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Wild rice is a favorite of many people. With a savory flavor and a hearty texture, wild rice is filling and delicious. However, did you know that wild rice is not truly rice?
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Chicken, Mushroom, and Wild Rice Soup Recipe
When cool weather arrives, nothing beats a dinner of warm, filling, savory soup. Our recipe for Chicken, Mushroom, and Wild Rice Soup is one that you will add to your regular soup rotation. Not only is this soup recipe tasty and delicious, but you can reheat it as leftovers and it tastes just as good as it did the first time. It is thick and creamy and will satisfy the heartiest appetites in your home.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Large skillet
- Spatula
- Microwave
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 6 ounce box of wild rice mix
- 4-6 uncooked chicken tenders or 2 large chicken breasts
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 stalk of celery diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 pound white mushrooms sliced
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup flour
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup of half and half
Instructions
- Cover the chicken tenders with cool water in a large pot or Dutch oven. Bring the water to a full boil over medium high heat and then turn the heat off under the pot.
- Cover the pot and let the chicken sit in the hot water for 15 minutes undisturbed.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it, discarding any connective tissue or gristle. You may need to put the chicken tenders on a plate to cool enough to handle before you can shred the chicken.
- Pour off and discard all but about two cups of the water that you cooked the chicken in.
- While the chicken is cooking, in a large skillet, melt the 3 tablespoons of butter. Add the diced carrots and the diced celery, cooking them together and stirring with a spatula until the carrots and celery are soft.
- Add the mushrooms and cook them along with the celery and carrots until the mushrooms are lightly golden.
- Also, while the chicken and veggies are being cooked, you can prepare the wild rice mix. Simply follow the instructions on the box to make it in the microwave or on the stovetop. This should take about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Next, add the broth to the pot in which you cooked the chicken along with the chicken cooking water.
- Add the shredded chicken, cooked wild rice, and sauteed veggies. Stir in the thyme. Turn heat under the pot to low.
- Using the same skillet in which you cooked the veggies, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat and then add the flour, stirring to combine.
- Stir till the flour and butter are a light brown, stirring constantly.
- Add the flour mixture to the soup pot, stirring it into the broth. Turn the heat back up under the pot and bring it to a low boil. Stir the soup; it should thicken slightly as you heat it.
- Turn the heat down to a simmer. Add in the parsley and the half and half, stirring to combine. When the soup is steaming hot, serve it.
- To store leftovers, allow the soup to come to room temperature before putting it into a container with an airtight lid and placing it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can reheat leftovers in a bowl by microwaving it for about 2 minutes. Alternatively, you can use a saucepan over medium heat to warm the leftover soup.
Notes
Surprisingly, wild rice is the seed of aquatic grass. There are four different varieties of wild rice. These plants are grown like rice, the seeds are harvested like rice, and they are prepared like rice. But in actuality, it is not really rice.
Of the four different varieties of wild rice, one is native to Asia. The other three grow naturally in North America in the Great Lakes region of the continent. This freshwater grass species grows in marshes and along the edges of lakes and streams.
Native American tribes in this region cultivated the grasses and harvested the seeds as a food source for hundreds of years before Europeans came to the area.
Wild rice is hailed by nutritionists as being much more healthy for people than typical white rice. This grain has more protein than white rice and other grains. In fact, it has all nine essential amino acids. It also has 1.8 grams of fiber in a 3.5-ounce serving. This means that it has as much fiber as brown rice.
Another benefit of wild rice is that it is loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants are powerful chemicals that researchers believe to prevent a whole host of health problems. Antioxidants are thought to fight cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Analysis of wild rice has shown that it has up to 30 times more antioxidants than white rice.
Wild rice is considered a whole grain. According to nutritionists, a high intake of whole grains correlates to a lower incidence of heart disease, type two diabetes, and a reduction in insulin resistance. Doctors recommend that you consume at least two servings per day of whole grains to get the full benefits of the vitamins, minerals, and fiber found in these powerful foods.
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