cream of mushroom and wild rice soup.
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons butter
8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, julienned
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
12 cups vegetable broth or water
1 cup wild rice
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tablespoon dried)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, or as needed
RECIPE
Melt butter in a deep pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Add mushrooms and cook until golden and glossy, about 3-4 minutes.
Add carrots, celery, and onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
Add flour to the vegetables and stir until dissolved. Vegetables will be sticky and paste-like. Do not allow to burn.
Pour in the broth and stir, breaking up the vegetables until broth is smooth. Add the fresh thyme.
Add the wild rice and stir. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, stirring frequently until rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Rice will be noticeably softer and will taste very tender -- not chewy.
Stir in the heavy cream, salt, and pepper, starting with generous pinches of both seasonings. If needed, add more cream.
Remove the thyme sprigs from the soup to serve.
NOTES
Stir the soup frequently while rice simmers, scraping the bottom of the pot with every stir. The rice will sink and stick to the bottom of the pot.
The flour and rice will thicken the soup quite a bit - the rice will absorb at least 1 cup of broth as it cooks. If the rice absorbs too much liquid before becoming tender (this can happen if the heat is too high), add more broth or water and continue cooking. The heavy cream will thin the soup slightly, so if the rice is ready and the soup is thick, add heavy cream before adjusting further.
If the soup is too thin, let the heavy cream simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken. Add more heavy cream as needed; the soup should be off-white and creamy.
Evan hates this story, but on our very first Valentine’s Day, he arrived at my doorstep with nothing other than a very large cup of chicken and wild rice soup. He worked at Panera at the time and had driven over after work, soup in hand, to enjoy the evening together. We got Chinese takeout and napped, and as we laid in my tiny college bed, I considered breaking up with him.
That’s why he hates this story.
Obviously, we didn’t break up, and nearly 10 years later I find the gesture endearing. At the time, though, I was having an existential crisis: “Will this man gift me stolen soup for the rest of my life?”
Even if the answer is yes, I think I’d be pretty happy. I love soup.
Making cream of mushroom & wild rice soup
If you aren’t vegetarian, feel free to add chicken to the soup. You can brown the chicken first or just throw it in with the rice, then shred it once it tenderizes in the broth. Easy addition.
However, this soup is made for those with just a few spare veggies in the fridge. Carrots, celery, maybe a few mushrooms. Any mushroom will work.
You can even make this with water instead of broth, dried thyme instead of fresh, and coconut cream instead of heavy whipping. It’s pretty customizable, so don’t overthink it.
Some important things to consider, though, are sweating the veggies (better flavor), cooking the rice fully (better texture), and remembering the flour (to thicken it).
So, quick weeknight meal or untimely Valentine’s gift, my hope is that this soup becomes a favorite for you, too.
Enjoy.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes
nothing beats fresh veggies - but feel free to buy these pre-sliced to save time.
Make a roux by coating the butter-soaked veggies in flour. The flour dissolves, making a sort of thick paste.
this is what the soup should look like after adding the rice and broth.
rice should be soft and visible by time you add heavy cream.
