Gluten Free: Turkey Noodle Soup

I don't know about you, but Christmas is still two and half weeks away and I'm already full! What with all the advent calendar chocolate, baking (it was meant to be a gift - oh well, I'll bake more...) and nights out, with obligatory Christmas menu, I'm not sure I'll be hungry when the big day arrives. That's a lie, I will be hungry, I'm always hungry. The onslaught of food doesn't stop there though, there's the mountain of leftovers to contend with next. Boxing Day brings turkey curry or turkey and stuffing pie amidst promises of "the diet starts next week'. Sometimes, in all this, you just need something light and maybe even a bit virtuous, something like this turkey noodle soup.

You'll need:

• 1 litre stock (If you've been organised enough to make turkey stock then use that, but chicken or vegetable stock will be just as good.)
• 2-3 slices of root ginger, about the thickness of a pound coin
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 stick of lemongrass, bruised with the back of a knife
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• a small bunch of coriander, leaves chopped
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• vermicelli rice noodles, you'll need about 50g of dried noodles per person
• cooked turkey, shredded (you can use chicken or prawns if you don't have turkey)
• 1-2 red chillies, sliced
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• a small bunch of mint, leaves only, finely chopped
• 2 limes, cut into wedges

Make it!

• Warm the stock in a saucepan, add the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, coriander seeds, stalks of fresh coriander and fish sauce. Leave to gently simmer and infuse all the flavours for about 15 minutes then strain to remove the herbs and spices. 
• Soak the rice noodles in boiling water for a few minutes, drain and divide them between four bowls. Pour over the stock.
• Add the shredded turkey, chillies, spring onions, mint and corainder leaves to the bowls. Serve with the wedges of lime to let people squeeze the juice into the soup before they eat.