So, we’ve all eaten too much rich food over Christmas! The kids have consumed enough chocolate to sink a battle ship and just the thought of another rich meal is enough to turn your stomach! It’s time for something virtuous, with not a drop of cream or butter in sight! This recipe is not only great for using up your Christmas turkey, it’s light, healthy and refreshing, providing the perfect cleanse, after all that rich food! Of course, you could use shop bought stock if you don’t want to make your own and the turkey could be replaced with chicken or even prawns!

Ingredients for stock:

Turkey carcass
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 white onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, lightly squashed
tsp peppercorns, lightly crushed
tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
2 bay leaves

Ingredients for broth:

Rice noodles- 1 nest per adult or half per child
Cooked turkey, shredded
1 stick lemon grass, bruised
Thumb sized piece of ginger, quartered
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
2 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of a lime
1 large carrot, finely sliced (I use a vegetable peeler and then slice matchstick thin)
1 spring onion, finely sliced
Small bunch fresh coriander
Red chilli, finely sliced- optional

Method:

Place all the stock ingredients in a large pot and cover with water
Bring to a boil and simmer for 30mins, skimming off any scum from the top as it forms
Strain into a clean saucepan (or storage container if refrigerating for use later), you will need approx 400ml stock per person
Add the lemon grass, 3/4’s of the ginger, garlic, coriander stalks, lime juice and fish sauce
Bring back to a simmer for 10mins
Finely chop the remaining 1/4 of ginger
Fish out the lemon grass, ginger, coriander stalks and garlic and add the chopped ginger along with the noodles
Continue to cook for the length of time the noodles require (usually around 2-3 mins)
Place the carrot, spring onion and chilli (if using) in each serving bowl and ladle over the hot noodle broth