BOUNDARY WATERS WILD RICE SOUP
This recipe is from "The Marshall Fields Cookbook" (2006). It's so good!
Makes 6 servings.
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 small leek, halved lengthwise, rinsed well and thinly sliced
1-1/2 cups sliced button mushrooms
3/4 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth
1-1/2 cups cooked wild rice
1/2 roasted chicken, meat chopped (1 to 1-1/2 cups)
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted, for garnish
To prepare vegetables: Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion. Sauté for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add leek, mushrooms and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until softened.
To make stock: Add flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Whisk in chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes.
To make soup: Add rice, chicken, cream, sherry, salt, pepper, parsley and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes or until warmed through. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Garnish with almonds. Serve hot.
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Comments: 10
Aren't we the early birds today! Thanks for commenting about the soup.
Here's some info on wild rice. It's really popular here in Minnesota. I forget that it's not so common in other parts of the country:
"Wild Rice, Minnesota's State Grain, is almost as old as history itself. This highly nutritious grain is not actually rice, but an annual water-grass seed, "zizania aquatica". Naturally abundant in the cold rivers and lakes of Minnesota and Canada, wild rice was the staple in the diet of the Chippewa and Sioux Indians, native to this region.
Even today, the wild rice grown on Minnesota state waters is regulated and must be harvested in the traditional Indian way. That means one must first purchase a license, then harvest wild rice during state regulated seasons. The rice must be harvested from a canoe, utilizing only a pole for power and two rice beater sticks as flails to knock the mature seeds into the bottom of the boat."
Wild rice has a wonderful, nutty flavor and a chewy texture. It looks a lot like traditional white rice, except it's not white (lol). I love it with sauteed mushrooms and celery but that's another recipe I should post.
The Marshall Fields Cook Book is a great collection of recipes from store employees. Macy's just bought out Marshall Fields here in Minnesota (which used to be Daytons before that). There's a restaurant at the Minneapolis Macy's, the Walnut Room, that serves this soup. It's fabulous. They also serve gorgeous popovers.
Wild rice harvesting is still almost primitive, amazing in our modern world.