Creamy Cajun Smoked Turkey & Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients

• 1 lb Cajun, andouille or smoked sausage, diced
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup flour
• 1 large onion, diced
• ½ green bell pepper, diced
• ½ red bell pepper, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T tomato paste
• Cajun seasoning (a low-salt one), smoked paprika and cayenne, to taste
• 6–7 cups chicken stock (or water with 2 T chicken bouillon base)
• 1 smoked turkey leg or wing
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• ½–1 cup heavy cream
• 2 boxes Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice, with seasoning packets
• 1–2 T liquid crab boil concentrate
• Splash of vinegar
• Green onions, sliced
• Black pepper (salt only if needed)

Instructions

1. Dice the onion, bell peppers, celery, garlic and sausage.
2. Brown the sausage in a Dutch oven and remove. Add the oil and flour and stir into a roux; cook until blonde and the raw flour smell is gone.
3. Add the holy trinity and garlic and cook in the roux until translucent.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and seasonings and cook until the tomato paste darkens. Add the stock.
5. Bring to a boil, then add the smoked turkey, sausage, thyme and bay leaves. Cover and cook until the turkey is tender.
6. Remove the turkey and shred the meat. Add the cream and the wild rice with its seasoning packets and cook until the rice is fully done, adding water if needed.
7. Return the shredded turkey and stir in the crab boil, a splash of vinegar and the green onions. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Plating

Be mindful of salt: the smoked turkey, sausage, rice seasoning and Cajun seasoning all bring salt, so you likely won't need any more. If it ends up too salty, thin it with a little water. Serve with crusty bread and extra green onions.