Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

The star ingredient is the wild rice, which gives the soup a rich and nutty flavour. This recipe makes enough soup to serve a crowd, or you can scale the recipe back by half for a family sized portion.

Difficulty

Advanced

Yield

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked wild rice2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast1/4 cup olive oil2 cups onions, diced1 ^1/2 cups celery, diced1 ^1/2 cups carrots, diced2 cups mushrooms, diced8 cloves garlic, minced1 bay leaf12 cups chicken broth4 cups water1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or substitute ¼ cup dried)2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped (or substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped (or substitute 1 teaspoons dried)1 cup butter, cubed1 cup all purpose flour4 cups milk Salt to taste Pepper to taste

Equipment

Stock potLarge potMeasuring cupsMeasuring spoonsTongsCutting boardChef’s knifePeelerRaspBowls various sizesWooden spoonWhiskSpatulaTasting spoonsDish cloth

Gather your mise en place; get together all of the equipment needed for the recipe and gather all of the ingredients.

Prepare the vegetables for your soup. Make sure to put each vegetable prepared into separate bowls. Peel the carrots, and Food cut into small blocks or squares. Make sure they are all roughly the same size!dice into pieces approximately 1cm squared. Dice your onion and your celery into 1 cm pieces. Remove the stems from your mushrooms, and Food cut into small blocks or squares. Make sure they are all roughly the same size!dice into 1 cm pieces.

Remove the fresh herbs from the stem if using, discard the stems and chop the herbs finely. Peel the garlic, and chop off the root end. Grate it finely with a rasp.

Pour the chicken stock into a stock pot and add the chicken breasts. Bring to a low boil, and then turn down to a simmer. Let simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked. Remove the cooked chicken pieces carefully with tongs and place on a plate to cool. Pour the broth into a large bowl and set aside for now. Clean out your stock pot to use it again to cook your vegetables.

Heat up the large stock pot over medium heat, and add onions and olive oil. Cook for about 4 minutes until softened, then add carrots and celery. Continue cooking another 3 – 4 minutes and then add mushrooms, garlic, herbs, and bay leaf. Cook for another couple of minutes and then pour in the reserved broth and add the rice. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to simmer until rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, Food cut into small blocks or squares. Make sure they are all roughly the same size!dice the chicken into 1 cm pieces. Add the diced chicken back into the pot with the rice and vegetables. Let the soup simmer while making the bechamel.

To make the bechamel, melt the butter in a large pot. Whisk constantly while adding the flour, and let the mixture cook for 1 minute to cook the flour. Slowly add the milk while whisking. Continue to whisk until all lumps have dissolved and mixture has thickened, and cook on low for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Carefully add the bechamel sauce to the large stock pot of soup, scraping it all out with a spatula. Stir to combine with the soup. Let the soup cook for another 5 – 10 minutes over low heat, making sure to stir frequently so that the soup does not stick to the bottom. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt if needed. Remove the bay leaf before serving.