MOTHER'S ROBUST TURKEY BROTH

MOTHER'S ROBUST TURKEY BROTH

Makes 7 quarts.

Note: Aside from tasting good, this is definitely winter-entertaining material. It's heaven for guests to be greeted on a snowy night with small cups of hot broth instead of icy cocktails. The mother in the title was mine. She was recovering from surgery and refusing food, so this broth came into being to tempt her. She not only recovered, she started making it herself, with her "improvement" of the optional white wine. Consider the broth an ideal weekend recipe to have on the stove as you work around the house. It needs about 20 minutes of actual work, and checking a couple of times as it cooks. This is a large recipe and you could halve it, but doing it once will give you broth for most of the winter. It freezes well for six months.

• 5 lb. turkey wings

• About 6 quarts of cold water

• 2 large onions (11/2 lb.), trimmed of root ends and coarsely chopped (do not peel)

• 2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped

• 4 large whole heads of garlic, trimmed of root ends and halved horizontally

• 2 whole cloves

• 1 bay leaf, broken

• 6 drained canned tomatoes

• 2 c. dry white wine, optional

Directions

Cut up turkey wings, cracking their bones with a cleaver in 2 or 3 places. Place in a tall 8- to 10-quart pot. Add enough cold water to come to within 3 inches of the lip of the pot. Bring the water slowly to a simmer. Skim off all foam that rises to the surface.

Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, cloves, bay leaf, tomatoes and wine. Partially cover and bring to a very slow bubble --that is, you can count to 5 before the next bubble breaks the surface of the liquid.

Simmer 12 to 14 hours, stirring and skimming off fat occasionally. Do not boil broth. Keep the liquid at the slow, occasional bubble. Add boiling water if the broth reduces below the level of the solid ingredients. Always keep them covered with about 3 inches of liquid.

Strain the broth through a fine sieve. For a clearer broth, strain it by ladling rather than pouring, leaving behind any sediment at the bottom of the pot.