Description
A cream-based chicken soup built around wild rice cooked separately and stirred in at the end, so the texture holds up on day one and on day three. Thigh meat poached directly in the broth carries most of the flavor.
Equipment: Large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot (5–6 quart), separate 2-quart saucepan for the rice, instant-read thermometer
Ingredients
For the rice:
1 cup wild rice, rinsed
2 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
For the soup base:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Combine the wild rice, water or broth, and salt in a separate saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, cover, and cook 45–50 minutes, until the grains split open and show a soft interior. Drain any excess liquid and set aside.
In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook 6–7 minutes, until the onion turns translucent and the vegetables soften.
Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir constantly for 1–2 minutes, until it coats everything and smells lightly toasted.
Slowly pour in the chicken broth, whisking as you go to prevent lumps. Add the chicken thighs, bay leaf, and thyme.
Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle bubble. Cook 20–25 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F internally.
Remove the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest 5 minutes, then shred it into bite-sized pieces using two forks.
In a separate bowl, whisk the heavy cream and milk with a ladleful of the hot broth from the pot to temper it.
Remove the pot from direct heat and stir the tempered cream mixture into the soup.
Return the shredded chicken and cooked wild rice to the pot. Warm through over low heat for 5 minutes — do not let it boil.
Remove the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
Notes
Chef Technique Decision: The wild rice is cooked in its own pot and added in the last few minutes rather than simmered in the broth from the start. Wild rice keeps absorbing liquid well past the point it looks done, and cooking it in the cream base thins the broth unevenly while leaving the rice’s core underdone. Separating the two gives full control over both textures.
The first batch made with rice simmered directly in the soup looked fine at the stove but turned noticeably thicker and gluier by the next day, with the rice blown out at the edges. Cooking the rice separately and storing extra portions without the final cream addition solved both the day-one texture and the reheating problem.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 420