Recipe: Turkey and Sweet Potato Chowder
Soups, stews, bisques, chowders…what’s the difference? Soup is an umbrella term for dishes that use liquid to cook the solid ingredients. Most are served warm, so when it gets cold out, we often call it ‘soup season.’ Stews, a sub-category of soups, is named for the ‘stewing’ that is done to the ingredients, which involves covering the ingredients with a shallow amount of liquid. The result is a type of soup that has large chunks of meat and other solid ingredients but not a lot of liquid. Bisques, another sub-category, are known for being rich and thick soups that often contain seafood. They include wine and cream, and the ingredients are pureed until a smooth consistency is achieved.
Lastly, we have chowders – the subject of this recipe! Chowders are thick and chunky soups most known for containing seafood, but other proteins like chicken and turkey can be used instead. Like bisques, chowders are typically creamy due to the presence of milk or cream. What sets them apart from bisques is that they do not contain wine and have big chunks of vegetables and protein.
This chowder recipe delivers on the typical description of chowder offering a thick and creamy liquid base, but it’s not cream or milk that makes it that way! Instead of the typical ingredients, this soup calls for Greek yogurt, offering an extra kick of protein. There are chunks of sweet potatoes that add complexity and dimension to the flavor of the dish, plus carrots, onions, celery, and green beans to round out the meal with non-starchy, nutrient-packed vegetables.
Turkey and Sweet Potato Chowder
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1/4 C butter
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed into bite size pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/4 C all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 C chicken bone broth
- 2 C cooked turkey, shredded
- 1/2 C plain Greek yogurt
- 1 C frozen cut green beans
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Add butter to a large pot and place on the stovetop on medium-high heat, allowing the butter to melt. Once the butter is melted, add the onion, carrots, celery, and sweet potato to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and appear translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and stir, allowing the mixture to cook until garlic is fragrant, about a minute. Sprinkle in the flour and mix to coat all of the veggie mixture well, and cook for another minute.
- Add the poultry seasoning and mix well. Pour in the broth and add a bay leaf.
- Allow the contents of the pot to come to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and cover. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and add the turkey and Greek yogurt, stirring until well combined.
- Add in the green beans and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes or until the green beans are thawed and warmed up.
- Remove the bay leaf. Carefully taste the soup and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes, serve, and enjoy!
Swaps:
- For the sweet potatoes: baby potatoes or other potato of choice, or butternut squash
- For the chicken bone broth: chicken stock or broth, vegetable stock
- For the turkey: shredded rotisserie chicken
- For the frozen cut green beans: fresh green beans (add to the soup with the rest of the vegetables), or any frozen vegetable desired