Looking for a soup recipe that is sure to please this Fall? Why not try Turkey Borscht, a healthy and delicious spin on an affordable classic. Turkey Borscht is hearty and is packed with root veggies, a flavourful broth and roasted turkey thighs. Go on, top it with all the sour cream you want!

Wow! What a whirlwind. Did you know how much work goes into filming a single episode of a cooking show?

Spoiler Alert: It’s A LOT!

As you may have known from my social media, I am incredibly fortunate to represent Manitoba Turkey Producers this season on Great Tastes of Manitoba. Great Tastes is a farm-to-table cooking series hosted by popular Winnipeg media personality, Dez Daniels. Each episode features local food experts who showcase the nutritious, affordable, delicious ingredients grown by Manitoba’s farmers. Viewers are also introduced to the farm families and agricultural communities behind the scenes. All the recipes featured on the show are triple tested for guaranteed results and developed with the home cook in mind. Established in 1991, this unprecedented television success story is uniquely Manitoban. The series is Manitoba’s most watched food show, and one of the longest running locally produced television programs in Canada.

While we filmed this episode titled “Turkey Soups from Around the World” on one hot day in July, it was months and months of prep work. From setting the theme (and you know I love thematic continuity!) developing recipes and testing them over and over, it was quite a whirlwind of activity. We also had to be very detail oriented and ensured every cut of Granny’s and Butterball Turkey products was perfectly roasted and every piece of onion cut oh-so-right.

I also learned so much about film production! From the need to write episodics – where every action and item is carefully planned, to the usefulness of staging, run throughs and carefully curated speaking notes, it was an eye opening experience! We also had such a great time! Stephany from Manitoba Turkey Producers and I were joined by a set assistant and we staged all the ingredients ever so carefully. Things move fast on set and I regretted wearing heels instead of comfy runners.

I also ate like an absolute Queen this Spring and Summer! Due to the need to develop and test the turkey recipes, I was constantly cooking and serving turkey soups for dinner and lunch. I also perfected my Butterball roasting technique! We used Butterball’s Boneless Turkey Breast Roast in our Coconut Thai Turkey Soup and it truly was the star of the show in the meal. These roasts make for the perfect leftovers – great for sandwiches, stir fry’s and salads in addition to soups!

I hope you enjoyed watching the episode as much as I did! If you missed it, don’t worry! Full episodes of ‘Great Tastes’ can also be streamed on demand at greattastesmb.ca or on the @GreatTastesTV YouTube channel. You can follow along with exclusive behind the scenes content, recipe tips, meal plans and more at @GreatTastesMB on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

I also encourage you to check out turkey.mb.ca, grannys.ca & butterball.ca for the final recipes seen on Great Tastes as well as more turkey inspiration and tips. As Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I encourage you to check-out the Whole Turkey Calculator to plan for the perfect sized-bird to fit your family gathering.

I am also happy to share below the recipe for Turkey Borscht – my favourite of the three soups! It’s full of delicious roasted Granny’s Turkey Thighs, root vegetables and offers a surprisingly bright and fresh broth. It’ll warm you up from the inside out and is sure to be a favourite dinner option this winter.

Turkey Borscht

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 45

Course Main Course

Cuisine Canadian

Ingredients

1 lb Granny’s Turkey Thighs roasted and cubed
1 tbsp canola oil
1 cup yellow onion diced small
1 cup carrots peeled and diced small
2 cups beets peeled and diced small
1 cup celery diced small
2 cups green cabbage thinly sliced or shredded
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp garlic minced
8 cups homemade or low sodium turkey or chicken stock
1 bay leaf
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup fresh dill chopped
to serve sour cream
to serve fresh bread

Instructions

Heat the canola oil in a large soup pot over medium low heat.
Add turkey and onion, sauté until lightly browned and fragrant, about 7 minutes.
Add carrots, beets, celery and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Add cabbage, tomato paste, garlic, stock, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.
Add salt and pepper.
Stir in lemon juice and dill. Remove bay leaf.
Serve immediately with sour cream and bread.