Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

I was thumbing through one of my America’s Test Kitchen cookbooks to find a comforting soup for dinner and stumbled upon an easy wild rice and mushroom soup recipe. I haven’t made a lot of recipes using wild rice but I love mushroom soup so I thought I would try. I loved the depth of flavor in the broth and the wild rice gave the soup a good texture and a nice nutty flavor but I think I liked the mushrooms most.  We all enjoyed bowls of this hearty wild rice and mushroom soup for dinner along with some freshly baked bread for dipping.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Wild Rice:

• 4 ¼ cups water, divided
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole clove of garlic
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 cup wild rice

Soup:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 16 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• ⅔ cup dry sherry
• ¼ oz dried shiitake mushrooms, finely ground (about 3 tbsp)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ¼ cup corn starch
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup fresh chives, minced
• ¼ tsp lemon zest

How to Make Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the oven rack in the middle position.

Prepare the rice by bringing 4 cups of water, thyme sprig, bay leaf, 1 whole garlic clove, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and baking soda to boil over high heat in a small Dutch oven. Add rice and return to boil. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place into the oven to bake for 35-45 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven.

Strain rice through a fine-mesh strainer set in a 4-cup liquid measuring cup; discard the thyme sprig, bay leaf, and garlic clove. Add enough water to reserved cooking water to measure 3 cups.

Prepare the soup by heating the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the cremini mushrooms, onion, tomato paste, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are browned and dark fond develops on the bottom of the Dutch oven, about 15-20 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Add the dry sherry, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom and sides of the pan, and cook until reduced and the pot is nearly dry.

Add the finely ground shiitake mushrooms, reserved cooking liquid, chicken broth, and soy sauce; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until the onion and mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes.

Whisk the cornstarch and remaining 1/4 water together until smooth and creamy with no lumps. Stir the slurry into the soup, return to a simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2-3 minutes.

Remove the pot from heat and stir in the cooked wild rice, heavy cream, chives, and lemon zest. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes.  Taste and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste, if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve. Enjoy.