Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

The idea for this recipe came from a restaurant in the La Crosse area called Grizzly’s; I went there for a nice steak dinner one night a few weeks ago, and I had their chicken wild rice soup before my meal. The soup was really good, but I couldn’t help thinking to myself that it could be done better; it wasn’t quite as thick and creamy as I’d like it, and the ingredients (chicken, rice, carrots, etc) weren’t quite as chunky as I would make them, either. So, I set out to make the perfect chicken wild rice soup (according to my standards, which don’t involve any type of calorie-cutting, so be warned, it’s not exactly low in fat).

I’m a huge fan of making soup; it’s easy, first of all, so you don’t need to sit in the kitchen for over an hour hovering over your food until it cooks, which is always nice. Second, it’s relatively inexpensive, considering the ingredients list consists of mostly vegetables. Lastly, whenever I make any type of soup or sauce, I like to make up a large batch of it, that way I can freeze some, and the next time I’m feeling a bit lazy (ex: after a long day at work, or the day after a long night out, etc) I can raid my freezer and eat the rest. This recipe could easily be doubled to accommodate more servings, or more leftovers, if you want to make a lot at once.

Ingredients:

¾ cup dry wild rice

4 tbsp butter

1 small yellow onion, minced

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

½ medium red pepper, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced

3 tbsp flour

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp curry powder

Salt & pepper

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

2-2 ½ cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed (you could use rotisserie chicken, that’s what I did)

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

Sliced almonds, for garnish

What to do:

Cook rice according to instructions; set aside.

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt butter; add onion, celery, carrot, red pepper, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir until mixture is thick and slightly golden; add nutmeg and curry powder; salt and pepper to taste. Add cream a little bit at a time, stirring to incorporate into flour mixture; cook for a couple of minutes to thicken. Stir in chicken broth; add bay leaves.

Bring up to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes; remove the bay leaves, then add the chicken, wild rice, and thyme; simmer for another 10 minutes to heat through. Garnish with sliced almonds, if desired. Serve with breadsticks or crusty bread/rolls and enjoy!

Finished product:

Wild rice is not an actual ‘rice grain’ and is unrelated to other rice grains. It is an annual grass which grows naturally in many Northern Minnesota lakes. It’s edible grains are long, slender and black, with an earthy, nutty flavor.