Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

–from the kitchen of Ruth MacDonald, professor and chair food science and human nutrition

Ingredients:

¾ cup uncooked wild rice

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup celery, chopped

½ cup carrot, chopped

1 cup button mushrooms, chopped

½ cup butter

1 cup flour

8 cups hot chicken broth

1½ cups diced cooked chicken

Salt and pepper

¼ teaspoon thyme

1 cup half and half

3 tablespoons dry white wine

Directions: Rinse wild rice and add to two cups of water in a saucepan.  Heat to boiling and simmer for 45 minutes until rice has popped.  Saute onion, celery, and carrots in butter until softened, add mushrooms near the end to just heat through.  Sprinkle flour over vegetables in pan and whisk into liquid until well blended but not brown.  Slowly stir in the hot chicken broth, stirring to blend all the flour.  Stir in the drained cooked wild rice and chicken.  Season with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Heat thoroughly.  Just before serving stir in half and half and wine, heat until warm without boiling.  Serve with warm bread.  Can be made up the night before, but don’t add half and half or wine until heated through and right before serving.

Back to story: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/stories/2011/11/food-systems-101/