MONDAY RECIPE POST - CREAMY MUSHROOM CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP

As the days get cold it sets my inner clock to making soup, which is a favorite meal for lunch or dinner in this house.  I found the recipe here at Closet Cooking hosted by Kevin.  

Rice Creamy Mushroom Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup wild rice (or a blend of rice including wild rice)

1 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and diced or shredded

1 cup milk or cream

1 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquids and the liquid has evaporated, about 10-15 minutes.  Set aside.

Melt the 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Mix in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about a minute.

Add the broth, rice, chicken and mushrooms, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rice is tender, about 20-30 minutes.

Mix in the milk and cheese and cook until the cheese has melted.  

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: The cooking time may vary depending on the kind of rice that you use. if the package that says to cook the rice for more or less time, go with that time.

Kevin's suggestions: 

Soak 1 ounce of dried mushrooms in 1 cup of just boiled water for 20 minutes before chopping the mushrooms and adding along with the garlic and adding the mushroom water along with the broth for an even more intense mushroom flavour.

Option: Add 2 tablespoons white miso paste in step 5 before seasoning with salt and pepper.

Nutrition Facts: 

Calories 443, 

Fat 20g (Saturated 9g, 

Trans 0.2g), 

Cholesterol 65mg, 

Sodium 676mg, 

Carbs 38g (Fiber 3g, Sugars 10g), 

Protein 27g

I served this with a slice of crusty bread.  You can also fix a salad on the side.  

We made a few changes.  I replaced the wild blend mix with long-grain rice, as I had just enough left in the bag from another meal. 

I used 2% milk and the finished soup tasted very creamy.

I didn't have any fresh thyme and substituted dried parsley.   Thyme is on the shopping list for next time (but a little bird just whispered in my ear that he didn't want me to change a thing, so I guess I will follow little bird's advice).

As it was in the fridge I added a few cilantro leaves on the top.  Not everyone likes it.  The first time we tried cilantro years ago when we were invited to a casual dinner, friends put it on their pizza.  It did not impress but the pizza was good!  Imagine our surprise years later when we found our tastes had changed.  It is now one of our favorite herbs.  

Next time I would also add a sprinkling of extra grated Parmesan, or a tablespoon of sour cream. 

It would be easy enough to leave out the chicken and chicken broth (using vegetable broth instead) if you want to go vegetarian.

There are leftovers for a couple of meals.

Apparently this is a good soup to freeze.  I may double the batch next time so that I can do just that. 


We found it an excellent soup and great comfort on a chilly day.

And finally, my grateful thanks to Kevin of Closet Cooking for such a delicious recipe.  There are many more at his website if you would like to take a look.