Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Our Chicken Wild Rice Soup is based on many versions we have enjoyed over the years. Rick has had the best ones in Minnesota, where Wild Rice is the State Grain and grows more than any other state. Our version uses our Bouquet Garni for the seasoning, which gives it some wonderful herbal notes and compliments the chicken and rice. We use toasted pine nuts as a topping, which adds bit of nuttiness which sets off the flavor even more.
Some Wild Rice Soup recipes use just wild rice, which we like. But we’ve also used wild rice blends which besides wild rice, might also have white rice, brown rice even quinoa. They all turn out great.
For the chicken, using a store-roasted chicken saves so much time. They also have great flavors. If you roast your own, just use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and a seasoning like our Parisian Café, or British Pub Chicken Seasoning. Both will give the chicken a nice flavor but won’t overpower the overall soup flavor.
We have another Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Recipe as well. It has an equally savory flavor, but uses a different spice & herb blend. We like them both, so if you want to look, please click HERE. You might make them both as we do.
Serves: 4 Hearty Appetites
Ingredients:
1 Cup Raw Wild Rice or Wild Rice Blend.
4 Tablespoons (½ Stick) Butter
1 Medium Yellow or White Onion, Diced
2 Large Carrots, Diced
3 Celery Ribs, Diced
2 Cups White Mushrooms, Sliced
2 Bay Leaves
8 Cups Chicken Stock
2 Cups Roasted Chicken, Diced (We use a store bought roasted chicken if we don’t gave time to roast one.)
1 Tablespoon Dried Bouquet Garni
2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
2 Teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
¼ Cup Toasted Pine Nuts*
Fresh Flat-leaf Parsley Springs for Garnish
*To toast pine nuts, place nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, and cook about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, or shaking the pan frequently, until they start to turn golden brown. Watch closely since they can burn very fast once they start to brown.
Directions:
Prepare the Wild Rice according to the directions on the package. Cooking times will vary from 20 to 40 or so minutes. This is plenty time to prepare the other ingredients and finish making the soup. If the rice finishes cooking before you are ready to continue, cover to keep warm and set aside until needed.
Once the rice has cooked, melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the carrots, celery and mushrooms. Cook about 7 minutes, until softened, stirring occasionally,
Add the chicken stock, cooked wild rice, chicken, Bouquet Garni, salt, pepper and bay leaves. Stir through to combine. Increase the heat to high, bringing it to a boil. Reduce temperature to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Once done, remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves.
Adjust the salt and pepper if needed. Ladle into the bowls and garnish with the parsley and some of the toasted pine nuts. Enjoy.