Wild Rice Soup
It’s definitely soup time, even though it is still a bit warm in Los Angeles. It rained once, so it is Winter. This soup with its late year wild rice and portobello mushrooms would be a perfect opener to a holiday feast.
Wild rice (Zizania palustris) is not actually rice at all, but rather an aquatic grass, native to North America. Known as “The Caviar of All Grains,” true wild rice is found in the regions around the Great Lakes and can cost up to $15.00 per pound. When I was a kid, my mom bought wild rice just once a year, at Thanksgiving, and the small box with the Indian on front was exquisitely expensive. The very finest comes from Minnesota where it is harvested by hand in September by the Native American tribes, who to this day, make their living from their crops. For more on the true Minnesota wild rice see Bonny Wolf’s article “Wild rice: Food for body and soul” at American Food Roots.
For this soup I used a cultivated variety, many of which are now grown in large scale farming operations, largely in California. Note that cultivated wild rice is often labeled “Minnesota Wild Rice.” It is less expensive than true wild rice, and while quite good, true wild rice from Minnesota has a superior taste and texture. The choice is up to you, as this is a real cooking budget issue. Which ever rice you use, this soup will satisfy you and your family.
Wild Rice Soup
serves 4 to 6
3/4 cup wild rice
2 leeks, cut in fine dice
1 large celery stalk, leaves removed, cut in fine dice
4 ounces cremini or portobello mushrooms, cut in fine dice
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 to 6 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup 1/2 & 1/2, OR heavy cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup sweet Marsala or dry sherry
salt and black pepper
Rinse wild rice and transfer to medium saucepan. Cover with 3 inches of water, and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Cover pan and cook about 50 minutes or until tender and rice has begun to butterfly open. Drain.
Over medium heat, melt butter in 6 quart sauce pan. Add leeks, celery and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Saute until softened and translucent, about 8 minutes, reducing heat if necessary to prevent browning.
Add mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon salt, continuing to saute until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes, taking care not to brown leeks.
Add flour and stir, cooking 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to brown the flour.
Add stock slowly and stir until well combined. Add rice and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 10 to 15 minutes more. Add 1/2 & 1/2 (or heavy cream) and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as you like. Add Marsala (or dry sherry.) Stir well, being careful mixture does not come to the boil once 1/2 & 1/2 (or cream) has been introduced. Ladle into soup bowls and serve.
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I have no affiliation with any product, manufacturer, or site mentioned in this article.
Tuesday, December 11th 2012 at 5:33 pm |
This soup sounds terrific ,easy and doesn’t take that much time and I happen to love every one of the ingredients
Tuesday, December 11th 2012 at 6:21 pm |
Excellent! I hope you give it a try.
Tuesday, December 11th 2012 at 9:56 pm |
Wild rice, something very healthy. I will give it a try. Paola
Wednesday, December 12th 2012 at 6:40 am |
Hi Paola,
It sure is good for you. My mother always made the most delicious stuffing for our Thanksgiving turkey using wild rice. Our family loved it, and we still make it to this day. Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 12th 2012 at 12:28 pm |
You know I’ve only bought REAL wild rice once – very expensive as you said. Otherwise, I’ve bought those boxes of Uncle Ben’s wild and white rice, which aren’t bad in a pinch. I am just imagining how delicious this soup must be, loaded with the flavor of the mushrooms as well as the rice. I love that engraving or etching that you included in your post, showing the gathering of the rice from a canoe.
Wednesday, December 12th 2012 at 3:48 pm |
Expensive indeed. I remember it was a seasonal item in our neighborhood market, Vicente Foods in Brentwood, California. I can still picture exactly where Mrs. Adams placed that small box on the shelf. On the front of the box was a drawing similar in character to the engraving in my post. It depicted a Native American in a canoe, and it was green and brown. I did not realize it at the time, but it actually showed him harvesting the rice.
I purchased some cultivated rice at Trader Joe’s. The cultivated varieties seem not to cook and bloom open as well as the true wild rice. Additionally they are far darker in color. However given the price differential, they are still very good and a fair buy. I had forgotten about Uncle Ben’s combo-good idea.
I recommend Bonny Wolf’s American Food Roots article. I learned a great deal about wild rice production, the Native Americans who grow it and its current status.
Sunday, February 10th 2013 at 9:10 am |
Pinned this to my soupe du jour board. Looks wonderful.
LL
Sunday, February 10th 2013 at 4:20 pm |
Excellent – this is perfect for winter!