This wild rice soup will take a lot of time but its worth it.
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cups water
- 2 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 6 cups long grain rice wild - prepared
- 3 pounds boneless chicken i use whole free-range, but breast works fine
- 5 stalks celery chopped
- 3 cups carrot cut into small coins
- 1 large chopped onion
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg ground
- 1 quart half-and-half cream
- Carbohydrate 29.4659638116548 g
- Cholesterol 56.6223323579239 mg
- Fat 9.39194425245467 g
- Fiber 1.81054755022775 g
- Protein 17.2817915646679 g
- Saturated Fat 4.02462955882606 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (253g)
- Sodium 224.391666250682 mg
- Sugar 27.6554162614271 g
- Trans Fat 0.788032499602541 g
- Calories 274 calories
Step-by-step
- I am going to give two methods to prepare this wonderful goodness, well because I have done both, so it is only fair to do so.
- Read through it all once so you get the clue of the adventure which you are about to enter.
- IN the morning or the day before, clean 2 cups of dry hand-harvested organic wild rice from the White Earth Indian Nation.
- Combine with 6 cups of water in that large soup pot.
- Cook at high temp, covered, until 10% of the water is remaining.
- Take off the heat and set aside.
- Roast a 5 to 6 pound free-range chicken.
- If you have never had one.. I highly suggest you do!
- I don't do anything special to it.
- This take about 2 hours.
- (or use 3 pounds of fresh chicken breast or even flash frozen works too- - just cook to specs)
- Once the whole chicken cools, take off all the wonderful goodness and chop it and set aside.
- I take all the dripping etc etc and pour through a sieve into the large measuring cup.
- I put it into the freezer so I can skim off the fat and harvest even more goodness.
- At this point you should have the chicken and rice done, so combine them in a large bowl cause you are going to use the soup pot um for the soup.
- In the soup pot heat the oil then add the celery, carrots, onion, salt, pepper, thyme and nutmeg.
- Saute until a bit translucent and add the dripping harvest and add enough chicken broth to make 2 cups.
- And yeah if you didn't cook the chicken.. just add 2 cups of broth.
- I bring this to a boil, turn to simmer, add the water and the rice and chick and stir.
- I like this to simmer about an hour.
- Add the half and half and bring back to a simmer.
- Make a cold slurry by combining the milk and corn starch.
- Add this to the soup and simmer until it reaches the desired consistency.
- This is a true labor of love - ENJOY!
- Oh yeah, and your friends and family will want the recipe!
While standard chicken and rice soups rely on quick-cooking white grains that absorb broth uniformly, this regional specialty centers on genuine wild rice, which requires distinct thermal management and significantly more moisture to soften properly without dissolving into a mushy paste.
- Simmer the wild rice in six cups of water until only ten percent of the liquid remains, ensuring the outer hull fractures and releases its earthy starch into the pot.
- Substitute whole roasted poultry with boneless breasts if scheduling is tight, but retain any rendered pan drippings to compensate for the missing natural gelatin and fat that give the broth its body.
- Sauté the diced celery, carrots, and onions in oil until they turn translucent, which drives off excess water content and concentrates their inherent sugars before the liquids go in.
- Whisk two tablespoons of corn starch into two cups of cold milk to form a slurry, preventing lumps before introducing it to the simmering dairy base.
- Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking in an airtight container for up to four days, keeping in mind that the wild rice will continue absorbing moisture and thicken the soup further overnight.
Thick dairy-based soups separate easily if boiled vigorously after the cream is added, so maintain a gentle simmer once the half-and-half enters the pot. Temperature control ensures the proteins in the dairy remain stable rather than curdling.
