Wild Rice Mushroom Soup

Wild Rice Mushroom Soup is a hearty, savory, satisfying vegetarian soup, perfect for cold nights. Recipe below.

I’VE NEVER HAD LUCK WITH WILD RICE, which is my way of saying that in the distant past I’ve made some really awful things with it. So when our friend Carmen gave us a beautiful bag of black, shining wild rice from Minnesota, it took me some time to get over my fears and figure out, already, what to do with this thoughtful gift. No one should be surprised that the gateway to a wild rice dish that I actually love was: soup. And mushrooms.

Despite the name, wild rice is not actually a rice. It is an annual aquatic grass native to the Great Lakes region of North America. Northern wild rice is found in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Idaho in the US, and in Northern Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada. Other native varieties grow along the St. Lawrence River, the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the US, including Florida and Texas, and in China.

According to the University of Minnesota, wild rice, or Manoomin as the Ojibwe people call it, is an ancient grain. People in the Great Lakes region have been harvesting and eating it for at least 2,000 years. Today, there are more acres of natural wild rice in Minnesota than in any other state. Carmen sourced ours from the Moose Lake Wild Rice Company in Deer River, Minnesota.

Healthy and nutritious, wild rice is low in fat, high in fiber and protein, and gluten free. As the University of Minnesota notes, one cup of cooked wild rice provides about 6.5 grams of protein, but contains only 166 calories, plus folic acid, niacin, potassium, zinc and several B vitamins. To learn more about this non-rice rice, including how it got misnamed, we encourage you to read this fascinating excerpt from the university’s The 10 Plants That Changed Minnesota.

Now, the soup itself. At the heart of its savory richness is mushrooms, lots of them. We used a pound of button mushrooms for this one batch and will likely use more the next time. Also, feel free to mix up your mushroom choices, maybe using baby bellas and shiitakes in addition to buttons. Mushrooms bring a nice umami to the soup and a kind of “meaty” chewiness. We used mushroom broth and water for the liquid, but you can also use vegetable broth or chicken broth (which will make it non-vegetarian, but just as delicious).

Thanks, Carmen, for the lovely gift! Figuring this out and then making this dish was a lot of fun, and a great lesson for me in perseverance. I never would have tried to cook wild rice again, or make this soup, if not for you.

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Wild Rice Mushroom Soup

Wild Rice Mushroom Soup is a hearty, savory, satisfying vegetarian soup, perfect for cold nights.

Course Soup

Servings 6

Ingredients

For the mushrooms

• 1 pound white button mushrooms, sliced, or a mix of types of mushrooms (see Kitchen Notes)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or no butter and 4 tablespoons olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• a little salt

For the soup

• olive oil
• 3/4 cup diced shallots
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2 celery stalks, sliced crosswise
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup wild rice
• 4 - 5 cups mushroom broth (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup water (you may need more)
• 2 cups fresh chopped spinach or 2/3 cup frozen chopped spinach
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• cream or half & half to finish

Instructions

• First, prepare the mushrooms. Brush off any dirt, then slice them. For medium sized mushrooms, I made three cuts, producing four slices.
• Heat the butter and olive oil on low in a large flat lidded sauté pan. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds or so. Add the mushrooms and salt and immediately toss with two spatulas so everything is coated with oil. Cover the pan and cook the mushrooms for about 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally and making sure the garlic doesn't burn. Reduce heat to very low, if necessary. During the cooking process, the mushrooms will release their moisture. Most of this will steam away as they cook; what remains will be garlicky and tasty. When the mushrooms are starting to turn golden, take the pan off the heat and set it aside for now.
• In a Dutch oven or other lidded, heavy pot, heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom on medium-low, then add in the shallots, carrots, celery and garlic, and sauté for three or four minutes, until the shallots are translucent and the carrots are softening a bit. Then pour in the wild rice, stir, and add the mushroom stock, the bay leaf and tarragon, and the sautéed mushrooms and any liquid in their pan. Stir everything together and bring to a simmer.
• Stir once, turn the heat down to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and let everything simmer gently for about 45 minutes. Check it occasionally and give it a little stir to make sure it isn't getting too thick or sticking to the bottom of the pot. If the soup is too thick, add more broth or water. This is done when the wild rice grains are just starting to burst—their mouth feel should be just a bit al dente.
• Next, remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the spinach and cook for three or four more minutes (cook a little longer if using frozen spinach). Season with salt and pepper to taste. When serving, ladle the soup into individual bowls, then add a tablespoon or so of cream or half and half to each serving bowl. But honestly, this soup is soothing and delicious even without the cream. And it tastes great the next day too.

Kitchen Notes

The mushrooms. First, 1 pound of mushrooms is the minimum amount for this recipe. Feel free to use more! Instead of all white buttons, you may use a mix, such as cremini (also sold as baby bellas) and shiitakes. If you are feeling lavish, chanterelles would be lovely. You could also add in dried mushrooms, but give them a good soaking for at least 20 minutes, ideally in hot stock rather than water (and discard the soaking liquid, which could be bitter or full of impurities).

The herbs. Tarragon is one of my very favorite herbs, and the one that is my go-to for soups, stews and even macaroni and cheese. But if you prefer, try this with rosemary or sage instead.

The cooking fats. Yes, you may use all olive oil and omit the butter entirely.

The stock. We used Pacific Foods Organic Mushroom Broth, but it can be a bit hard to find. Vegetable or chicken broth may be used instead.