One of the things I love most about recipe development is that you can start a recipe off with one idea and end up with something very different. This soup, for example, began as a riff on Olive Garden’s chicken gnocchi soup, but somewhere along the way, nostalgia hit. The aromatic smell of leeks cooking in bubbling butter began to tug on old memories of my great-grandmother’s soup. I can see her now, hovering over the copper-bottomed Revere Ware stockpot, stirring a humble potato and dumpling soup made with chicken stock, cream, and celery seed. It wasn’t until I lived in North Dakota that I learned this soup had a name—knoephla.
The only problem with knoephla is that it never keeps me full for long. That’s why I like adding turkey for protein so it sticks to the ribs. It’s particularly good with wild turkey if you have it, because it’s much more flavorful than domestic turkey and definitely more flavorful than chicken.
This recipe is a nod to my great-grandmother and the classic German soup, but instead of potatoes and dumplings, I opted to just use gnocchi, an Italian dumpling made with potato. I suppose this element might make this more similar to Olive Garden’s soup (hence the reference to Olive Garden). Regardless, it hits two birds with one stone, and you can buy gnocchi pre-made at most grocery stores. As a new mom looking to simplify dinner, I’m all for easy shortcuts!
This is one of the few instances where I think the breast meat is better than the thighs, but you can use either one (just know that the thighs will take a long time to tenderize, so plan accordingly). I also prefer the shredded pieces of meat instead of clunky cubes. To get that desired effect, you’ll want to cut the turkey into big portions that simmer until it shreds apart instead of dicing it like stew meat.
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