Makes About 4 Quarts
1 Cup Uncooked Minnesota Wild Rice
2 Ounces Dried Porcini Mushrooms, Re-Hydrated, Liquid Reserved
2 Pounds Baby Bella Mushrooms, Sliced
1 Large Spanish Onions, Diced (About 2 Cups)
4 Cups Diced Celery
4 Cups Diced Carrots
10 Cups Homemade Chicken Stock or Canned Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 Bouquet Garni Consisting of 2 Sprigs Fresh Cilantro, 6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme, 1 Sprig Fresh Oregano, 4 Fresh Sage Leaves, 1 Bay Leaf Broken in Half
1 Tablespoons Coarse Sea Salt
2 Teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
4 Cups Cooked Chicken Breast, Diced
Chopped Scallion for Garnish
Place the wild rice in a colander and rinse with cold water. Transfer the rice to a pan large enough to hold the rice and 4 cups water. Cover the rice with 4 cups cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the rice, covered for 50 to 60 minutes. You want the grains to expand and the rice to be soft. Remove from the heat and drain the rice in a colander. Rinse with cold water and set aside. (I use CANOE wild rice because it is readily available at your grocery. I suggest using only wild rice and not the blended rice. Also, do not use any kind of instant Wild Rice just in case there is such a thing.)
Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a small saucepan and cover with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the mushrooms sit in the liquid for 10 minutes before straining. Strain the liquid through a strainer fitted with cheesecloth or paper towel. Rinse the mushrooms to be sure there is no dirt or sand. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible into the cheesecloth fitted strainer. Coarsely chop the porcini mushrooms. Set aside the mushrooms and the liquid.
Heat a large pan such as a Dutch oven over medium high heat. When pan is hot add the 2 pounds of sliced baby bella mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms stirring frequently until the mushrooms are cooked and their juice has been extruded. Add the onion, celery, carrots and chopped porcini mushrooms and mix well. Add the chicken stock, the porcini liquid, bouquet garni, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 30 minutes.
Add the cooked wild rice and simmer, covered, another 30 minutes. Add the cooked chicken and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
Serve in warm soup bowl with chopped scallion as a garnish. A really good hunk of artisan bread goes well with the soup as well as a tossed salad for a side dish.
