The temperature is starting to dive and that can only mean one thing: soup season is upon us! This is the first time that I have really made soup at home, but let me tell you, my roommate and I could not stop eating this. The prep time was about 40 minutes and the cooking time was close to an hour, but this soup was worth the wait. I made some changes from the original recipe, such as excluding carrots and sour cream, as well as adding in some more spices. My recipe is listed below, feel free to try it out!
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hr.
Total Time: 1 hr. & 40 min.
Ingredients:
2 Chicken breasts, boneless skinless
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon Thyme
1 Tablespoon Parsley
1 Tablespoon White Pepper
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup Celery, diced
1 cup Yellow Onion, diced
1/2 lb. Mushroom, sliced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
3/4 cup Wild Rice, Uncooked
1 Qt Chicken broth, divided
1 Qt Water, divided
1 Cup Grated Parmesan
1 Cup Heavy Cream
Cornstarch slurry – if needed
Steps:
1. In a bowl, coat chicken breasts with olive oil, garlic powder, thyme, parsley, and white pepper. Move the chicken around to ensure it is fully coated. In a large pot over medium heat, begin cooking the chicken.
2. While the chicken is cooking, dice the onion and celery and slice the mushrooms. Your cuts don’t have to be perfect; everything is getting mixed together in the end. Make sure that while you are doing that you check the chicken, so it doesn’t stick to the pan. If this does start to happen, just add some water to the bottom of the pan to prevent more sticking or burning.
3. Once the chicken is cooked, it should be completely white on the inside. Place the breasts on your cutting board to cool. Lower your heat and add butter, onions, celery, mushrooms, and garlic cloves. Cook until tender. If you prefer your celery and onions to have less crunch, I recommend cooking those first and then adding the mushrooms last.
4. When the veggies are done, transfer them to a bowl. To the pan, add the wild rice, 2 cups of chicken broth, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and lower heat for about 30 minutes or until rice is tender.
5. While the rice is cooking, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. You can also shred the chicken if you prefer it that way.
6. After the rice is cooked, add the chicken and veggies back into the pot, along with the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth and water. Add in 1 cup heavy cream and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring often.
7. Finally, add to the parmesan and stir to incorporate. Once incorporated, the soup is ready to eat.
Notes:
*If you prefer your soup to be a little thicker, I recommend adding in a cornstarch slurry; a mix of cornstarch and water to thicken it up.
*If you prefer a richer soup, add 1/2 cup of Sour Cream.
*This recipe is not vegan or dairy free, to make vegan replace chicken with tofu or beans. Dairy-free options for heavy cream would be thick coconut milk or other plant-based milk.