Wild Rice Mushroom Soup

Sharing is caring!

Some of my best recipe ideas pop into my mind while I am in the car, alone, listening to music.  Or on the bike in spin class.  My mind wanders, I start thinking about ingredients, and different ways of using them.  As my mind plays with the ingredients, I begin storing these recipes away in my mental recipe box.  This Wild Rice Mushroom Soup recipe came about as I was driving home over the holidays, hungry, which is just as bad as grocery shopping in that state as by the time I pulled into town I was ravishing!

As I said, I was hungry and wanted a big bowl of warm comfort food.  I was craving mushrooms and had an itching for wild rice.  I love the texture of wild rice, as well as the earthy flavors it leaves me.  I knew I had most of the ingredients at home, and all I needed to do was swing by the store to pick up fresh mushrooms and a little heavy cream.

Once home, I opened a bottle of white wine, turned some music on, and began chopping, stirring, cooking, and tasting.  It was like the perfect dream, as I added each new chapter to the Dutch oven, it all came together nicely.  Earthy, texture-rich, and full of flavor.

Since that first attempt, I have made the recipe a few times using chicken stock in place of the vegetable stock;  both ways work perfectly.  I have opted to stir the cream in at the very end, that way I can freeze leftovers for another time.  As well, it gives you the option of a dairy-free soup, which is also lovely.

Enjoy!

Yield: 4 - 6 servings

Wild Rice Mushroom Soup

Print

An mixture of dried and fresh mushrooms make the base for light wild rice mushroom soup. Cream is optional and added as a garnish to to keep the soup on the lighter side.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushroom - have also used shiitake and maitake
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup wild rice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small (5 ounces) yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 celery stalks, finely diced
• 3 carrots, scrubbed clean, do not peel, then finely dice
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 12 ounces assorted mushrooms - cremini, oyster, etc.. I use what is available/and or on sale, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup white white
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• handful Italian parsley, finely chopped
• heavy cream
• kosher salt
• black pepper

Instructions

Place the dried mushroom in a small bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Set aside for 20 minutes. Once soft, strain the mushrooms and the mushroom broth through a piece of cheesecloth into a small bowl. Save the broth. Roughly chop these mushrooms, then set aside.

Place the wild rice into a large saucepan, sprinkle in a little salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low and cook for 35 - 40 minutes. Rice should only be al dente; do not overcook. After it has cooked, drain, rinse with cold water, drain again, then set aside.

In a dutch oven add the olive oil and yellow onion, stir and cook over medium-low heat until soft. This will only take about 3 - 5 minutes.
Add the celery and carrots to the onions, stir and cook for 8 minutes.

Stir the garlic and the dried (not dry any longer) mushrooms into the onion mixture, stir and cook over medium-low heat for 3 minutes.

Stir in the assorted mushrooms, and the thyme. Cook for 5 minutes longer.

Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up the browned pieces of vegetables, and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the mushroom broth and the stock.

Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a very low simmer. Cook for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the rice and the parsley, and gently heat for 3 minutes.

Ladle into bowls. If serving with cream, stir a couple of tablespoons into each bowl.

Garnish with a little parsley.

Serve.

Eat.

Notes

Use your favorite mixture of mushrooms, we use whatever happens to be in season at the time of making.

Did you make this recipe?

Thank you for joining us at the Chez Us table. We truly love having you here.Have you made this recipe?  Please share what recipes you are enjoying from Chez Us. We would love to see and be able to share with our followers. Use the hashtag #chezuseats on your social media channels, then we can pull a chair up to your virtual table and share with our friends.

Recipe:  Wild Rice Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 ounce dried porcini mushroom – have also used shiitake and maitake
1 cup boiling water
1 cup wild rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small (5 ounces) yellow onion, finely diced
3 celery stalks, finely diced
3 carrots, scrubbed clean, do not peel, then finely dice
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
12 ounces assorted mushrooms – cremini, oyster, etc.. I use what is available/and or on sale, thinly sliced
1/2 cup white white
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
handful Italian parsley, finely chopped
heavy cream
kosher salt
black pepper

How To:

Place the dried mushroom in a small bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Set aside for 20 minutes. Once soft, strain the mushrooms and the mushroom broth through a piece of cheesecloth into a small bowl. Save the broth. Roughly chop these mushrooms, then set aside.
Place the wild rice into a large saucepan, sprinkle in a little salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low and cook for 35 – 40 minutes. Rice should only be al dente; do not overcook. After it has cooked, drain, rinse with cold water, drain again, then set aside.
In a dutch oven add the olive oil and yellow onion, stir and cook over medium-low heat until soft. This will only take about 3 – 5 minutes.
Add the celery and carrots to the onions, stir and cook for 8 minutes.
Stir the garlic and the dried (not dry any longer) mushrooms into the onion mixture, stir and cook over medium-low heat for 3 minutes.
Stir in the assorted mushrooms, and the thyme. Cook for 5 minutes longer.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up the browned pieces of vegetables, and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the mushroom broth and the stock.
Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a very low simmer. Cook for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the rice and the parsley, and gently heat for 3 minutes.
Ladle into bowls. If serving with cream, stir a couple of tablespoons into each bowl.
Garnish with a little parsley.
Serve.
Eat.