Turkey Soup with Lemon and Barley

Like turkey soup but want to change things up a bit this year with your turkey leftovers? Now here’s a detour from tradition, a riff on a classic Middle Eastern lemon chicken soup.

The strong flavor of turkey meat holds up beautifully to the acidic lemon and bright turmeric, cumin, and ginger spices. The addition of barley gives the soup body.

We used turkey stock from the carcass of a roast turkey, but you could easily use chicken stock.

Turkey Soup with Lemon and Barley Recipe

If you are cooking gluten-free, use rice instead of barley.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, grated or minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Salt
• Pepper
• 6 cups turkey stock or chicken stock
• Strips of lemon zest, from one lemon*
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup barley (more barley will yield a thicker soup)
• 2 cups chopped cooked turkey
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (can sub with more parsley)

*Use a vegetable peeler to peel strips of zest from a lemon. Use a sharp knife to scrape out and discard any of the white pith that still remains on the inside of the zest strips.

Read More: Turkey Soup with Lemon and Barley