You just might go wild over these soups

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Wild rice and mushroom soup

RESPONDING to Diane Mayes' request for a wild rice soup, Barb Gmitrowski sent in a roux-thickened version from one of her co-workers. (Their workplace has put together a communal cookbook, which is a terrific idea.) Heida Bottrell sent in a pureed version, which uses the rice itself as a thickener. Both soups showcase the earthy, nutty taste of wild rice.

And with the New Year and its resolutions ringing in, how about some recipes for healthy soups and winter salads? (I personally need to recover from 12 lovely days of Christmas cookies.) If you can help with a recipe request, have your own request, or a favourite recipe you'd like to share, send an email to recipeswap@freepress.mb.ca, fax it to 697-7412, or write to Recipe Swap, c/o Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. Please include your first and last name, address and telephone number.

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Wild rice soup

CORRECTION: Oh dear, my yeast issues seem to continue. Janet Brown wrote in to correct the first bierocks recipe of Dec. 21. She recommends traditional dry active yeast for her recipe rather than the rapid-rise I used. I actually managed good results with rapid-rise -- the dough didn't under- or over-rise and it baked up nicely -- but traditional is the preferred yeast for Janet's recipe.

Wild rice soup

114 g (1/2 cup) butter

1 yellow onion, chopped fine

1-2 sticks celery, chopped fine

1/2 green pepper, cut into thin slices

6 large mushrooms, diced

250 ml (1 cup) all-purpose flour

1.8 L (8 cups) chicken broth

500 ml (2 cups) cooked wild rice (see note)

salt and pepper to taste

2-3 drops Worcestershire sauce

250 ml (1 cup) half-and-half cream (10 per cent)

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter and saut© onion, celery, green pepper and mushroom until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in flour and mix to a paste without browning. Slowly add broth while stirring well. Add rice, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Add cream, heat gently but do not boil, and serve immediately.

Tester's notes: A delicious creamy soup. The key with the butter-flour mix is to cook thoroughly -- about 5-10 minutes -- to get rid of any raw flour taste, while making sure that it doesn't burn, and to add the liquid very gradually, beating well to eliminate any lumps. Barb notes that you can used canned wild rice for convenience, and the vegetables can be changed up a bit with whatever you have on hand. I used red pepper instead of green, for instance, due to a fanatical anti-green-pepper contingent in my house.

Wild rice soup with mushrooms

75g (1/3 cup) butter

150 g (about 1 cup) onion, finely chopped

75 g (about 1/2 cup) carrots, finely chopped

75 g (about 1/2 cup) celery, finely chopped

750 g (about 8-9 cups) mixed mushrooms, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

75 ml (1/3 cup) dry white wine

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 ml (1/2 tsp) dried thyme

1.75 L (about 7 cups) water or chicken stock or vegetable stock

400 g (about 3 cups) cooked wild rice (see note)

125 g (about 1/2 cup) cooked white rice

250 ml (1 cup) whipping cream

salt and pepper to taste

garnish: some reserved cooked wild rice and saut©ed chopped mushrooms, chopped parsley

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter and saut© onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms until they soften and start to change colour, about 7-10 minutes. Add garlic and saut© 2 minutes more. Add the wine, bay leaf and thyme and cook 2 minutes more. Add stock and cooked rice and simmer until flavours blend and rice is very soft. Add cream and simmer 10 more minutes, but do not boil. Remove bay leaf. Using a blender, puree until soup is smooth, adding more stock if too thick. Return soup to pot and season with salt and pepper. If desired, place some reserved rice and mushrooms at the bottom of each bowl and top each serving with chopped parsley.

Tester's notes: The mix of pureed rice and mushrooms gives this soup a rich, dark taste. You can use a mix of mushrooms -- crimini, portabella, shiitake -- though white button mushrooms will do just fine. An immersion stick blender is miles easier -- especially when it comes to cleanup -- but you'll probably get a smoother texture with a regular blender.

To cook wild rice:

Since both recipes call for cooked wild rice, here are instructions, adapted from the Canoe Wild Rice company. In a pot with a tight-fitting lid, bring 1 part wild rice to 4 parts water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Shut off heat, leave pot to stand on burner for 25-30 more minutes, or until rice reaches desired consistency. Drain. (One cup of uncooked rice generally yields 3 to 4 cups cooked, depending on desired consistency.)

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Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 4, 2012 C4