Oh, My! Turkey Pot Pie Soup and Hearty Biscuits

Today, I took my little boy to the doctor's office and found out the lil' gherkin has an ear infection. Whenever I was sick, as a little girl, my Mom always made me Chicken Pot Pie. It always made me feel better. So, of course I thought this would be the perfect thing for my lil' one.  However, I decided to make my Mom's version with turkey instead, since I made turkey and stock yesterday. And, rather than thickening it up with a flour slurry like she does, I whisked in a Béchamel sauce. And, because lil' gherkin loves biscuits, I nixed the traditional pie crust. 

Oh, My! Turkey Pot Pie Soup

3 cups turkey, shredded

1 cup celery, diced

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

4 cups turkey stock

*1 batch of Béchamel sauce*

1-2 tsp rosemary (depending on how much you like it)

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tbsp parsley

Salt & Pepper to taste

Olive oil

In a large stock pot, on medium heat, sauté onions and celery in olive oil, for about 5 minutes. Or, until softened. Add the mixed vegetables and cook an additional 3-5 minutes, till the frost comes off.

Add the rosemary, thyme, and parsley. Pour in the turkey stock and then slowly whisk in the Béchamel sauce. Last, add the shredded turkey and salt & pepper.  Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for about an hour. 

*Béchamel sauce

4 tbsp butter

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup whole milk, heated

Sea Salt

Melt the butter in a medium pot, on medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, continiuously, until you have a nice paste. This will take about 2 minutes and will take the raw taste out of the flour. Make sure not to let the paste brown, you will want the paste to stay a nice blonde color.  Slowly add the heated milk, and keep stirring, till well incorporated. Turn up your heat slightly until the sauce begins to boil and thicken. 

Lower the heat to medium low and continue to whisk for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, salt, and set aside.

Hearty Biscuits

Makes about 18

3 cups Unbleached White Wheat Flour (I used King Arthur's)

1 stick of butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp sugar (I used evaporated cane sugar)

1 cup buttermilk ( I didn't have buttermilk, so I made my own. I combined whole milk and a tbsp of lemon juice and let it sit for 5 minutes.)

Pre-heat oven to 425 F degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or a couple of 9 inch cake pans.

In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar till well incorporated. Dump in your butter and with your hand squish and mix with the flour until your flour resembles pea sized sand.

Gradually, mix in your buttermilk by hand until all your dough loosely comes together. Turn out onto a floured surface and lightly fold your dough into a ball. With a rolling pin, roll out until your dough is about a half inch thick. Dip a glass or round cookie cutter into some flour and begin cutting out your biscuits. (I've heard that if you twist your hand after you make your cut, it will take some of the air out of the biscuit. I don't know if this is true, but I try not to do it.)

Bake at 425 F degrees for 15 -20 minutes. I used cast iron, so 15 minutes did just fine.