Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

A simple Chicken & Wild Rice Soup for spring.

Enjoy!

This recipe serves four.

Shopping List
1 pound of cooked and shredded chicken (click HERE to see the easy way I do this)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
4 leeks, cleaned and chopped (see below for cleaning instructions)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 pint of sliced mushrooms (whatever kind you love)
about 2 cups of either chopped carrots or baby carrots
3 tablespoons of poultry seasoning
2 bay leaves (dried or fresh)
salt and pepper
1 (32 oz) box of chicken stock
1 (6 oz) box of wild rice (unprepared)
1/4 cup cream or milk (whichever you have)
grated Parmesan cheese to garnish (optional)
chopped parsley to garnish (optional)

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add in a big drizzle of EVOO along with your chopped (and cleaned!) leeks.  Allow the leeks to saute about 5 to 8 minutes or until tender.  After that, stir in your chopped garlic and saute a minute.  Next, add in your sliced mushrooms and carrots and continue sauteing 3 or 4 more minutes.  Next, add in your cooked and shredded chicken followed by your poultry seasoning, bay leaves and a big pinch of both salt and pepper.  Slowly stir in your chicken stock and your uncooked wild rice.  Bring everything up to a boil and then as soon as it boils, reduce heat to a simmer and continue simmering uncovered for 20 minutes (stirring often).  After about 20 minutes, your veggies should be tender and rice cooked.  At this point, stir in your cream or milk.  Turn off the heat and you’re ready to ladle into bowls and garnish with a bit of grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.  Don’t forget to remove those bay leaves before serving :).

Okay, you need to clean your leeks in a very specific way.  Bring them home from the market and chop them into bite sized pieces.  After they’re chopped, you need to place them all in a colander and run cold water down all over them.  They grow in sandy soil and if you don’t wash them out really well after they’ve been chopped, you’ll wind up with sand in your soup.  Once they’re nice and rinsed, I place them on a clean kitchen towel and rub them dry.

Enjoy your soup!