Wild Rice Soup Recipe

We love wild rice around here. And we are having very unusually cold weather for this time of year. Pair the two up and this is a perfect meal for a cold day.



I decided to make this at the last minute and had no fresh mushrooms so I used dried ones. I am a big fan of dried mushrooms.


All you do is cover them with water, stick them in the microwave for a minute or two and cover them for about a half hour. Save the steeping liquid. You just made mushroom tea and it is full of flavor and will help flavor your soup.


To cook the rice (I wanted 4 cups of cooked rice) I added 2 cups of rice and 2 tsp. of salt in a heavy pan. Add 6 cups of water, bring this to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes. The rice will pop open when done.




Then make sure to make a recipe of my no-knead rosemary bread to serve with it! Hehe!!!


I seasoned chicken breasts with salt, pepper and celery salt and grilled them on the stove top. Set them aside to cool.


I diced a large onion.


Three carrots.


A bunch of celery along with it's leaves.


And diced about 3 cups of ham into small cubes.


I strained the mushrooms out of the water and chopped them into small pieces.


In a heavy large pot melt a stick of butter.


Saute the onions for a couple of minutes.


Stir in the carrots.


Add some salt and pepper.


And sprinkle in several tsp. of thyme.


Add 4 bay leaves.



Add the chopped mushrooms.


Strain the rice saving some of the liquid. about 3 cups. Then add the cooked rice.


Stir everything together.


Add 1 tsp. of turmeric.


Sprinkle in some chicken bouillon.


Add 1 tsp. of sugar.


Then sprinkle in about 4 T. of flour. Stir it around and cook for a couple minutes to cook away the flour flavor.


Add the mushroom liquid leaving the sediment on the bottom out of the mix.


Add the reserved rice liquid.


Pour in about 4-5 cups of chicken stock.


Turn the heat up and cook until it is just coming to a boil.


The lower the heat and add the chicken and the ham.


Add some fresh chopped parsley. Stir it around and check for seasoning. Add about 2 cups of half and half or if you want it to be really rich use cream.


What a great combination. It is especially good served with a piece of the rosemary bread.