Butternut Turkey Soup

Post-Thanksgiving. The leftovers. The slow exhale of a holiday that went right. Tom texted the next day: "Thank you for including me. Your kids are remarkable." I said, "They liked you." He said, "Lily didn't talk to me." I said, "She sat next to you. That's louder than talking." He understood. Tom understands things quietly, the way rivers understand the land they flow through — not by forcing but by observing, by being present, by letting the shape of things reveal itself.

The December planning begins: this is Scott's Christmas year (odd/even alternation), which means the kids are with him December 24-25 and with me the 26th. I know the drill. I know the empty house on Christmas Eve. I know the steak-for-one. I know the silence. But this year, the silence might be shared. This year, Tom might be at the table on the 24th, and the steak-for-one might be steak-for-two, and the empty house might not be empty.

I haven't asked him yet. The asking feels like a step — not because he'd say no, but because inviting someone to spend Christmas Eve with you, even the Christmas Eve without children, is an invitation to something deeper than dinner. It's an invitation to the quiet. To the real. To the version of you that exists when no one is watching. I'm thinking about it.

I made a turkey pot pie from Thanksgiving leftovers — the turkey shredded, the gravy turned into filling, a fresh butter crust on top. It is the apotheosis of Thanksgiving recycling: the meal that transforms the meal that came before. Mason ate two servings and said, "The leftovers are better than the original," which is blasphemy against the turkey but a fair assessment of the pot pie.

The pot pie gets the glory—Mason declared the leftovers better than the original, and I’m not going to argue with a kid who ate two servings—but this Butternut Turkey Soup is the other transformation I keep in my back pocket for the quieter days after Thanksgiving, the days when the house has settled and I want something warm that doesn’t ask too much of me. It’s the same idea at heart: shredded turkey, leftover broth, the good stuff that’s been waiting in the fridge, coaxed into something new. The meal that transforms the meal that came before.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cups cooked turkey, shredded or roughly chopped
4 cups turkey or chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream
Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Sauté the aromatics. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add squash and broth. Add the butternut squash cubes and pour in the broth. Stir in thyme, sage, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the squash is completely tender when pierced with a fork, about 20—22 minutes.
Partially blend. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup directly in the pot until roughly half of it is smooth, leaving visible chunks of squash for texture. Alternatively, transfer 2 cups of the soup to a blender, blend until smooth, and stir it back into the pot.
Add the turkey. Stir in the shredded turkey and heavy cream. Return the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 8—10 minutes, until the turkey is heated through and the flavors have melded.
Taste and serve. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve with crusty bread or a simple green salad.

Nutrition (per serving)

Butternut Turkey Soup — The Meal That Transforms the Meal Before