Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

I've been looking for a good mushroom and rice soup recipe for a while. Last time I visited my parents I tried making up my own from what we had in the house but I got a bit carried away with rice and lentils and ended up with more of a paste. It was very tasty and worked well for filling tortillas but it wasn't soup.

I've been watching episodes of America's Test Kitchen on Netflix and one of the episodes featured a wild rice and mushroom soup and while their version had many things that we can't or don't eat there were several ideas in it that got me started on my own version.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients: 

For the rice: 

• 4 c water, heated to a boil 
• 3/4 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp dried thyme 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 1 tsp dried basil 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda 
• 1 cup three grain rice 

 
For the soup base:

•  4 Tbsp butter, salted 
• 1 pound Cremini mushrooms 
• 1 cup celery diced 
• 1/2 tsp asafetida 
• 1 tsp red curry paste 
• 1 tsp pepper 
• 3/4 tsp salt 
• 1/8 c. apple cider vinegar 
• 1/2 Tbsp sugar 
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce 
• 3 c. water from rice plus water to make up the difference 
• 4 c vegetable broth 
• 1/4 c. corn starch 
• 1/4 c. dried shiitake mushrooms shredded in to small pieces or ground 
• 1/2 c cream 
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest 

Instructions 

For the rice: 

• Use an oven-safe pot and start the water boiling 
• Pre-heat the oven to 375F 
• Add the salt, thyme, bay leaf, basil, baking soda, and rice to the water once it is boiling 
• Bring back to a boil 
• Put the pot of rice in the oven for 35-55 minutes 

 For the soup base: 

• Using a sauté or frying pan melt the butter 
• Add the celery and asofoetida and sauté until the celery starts to soften 
• Add the curry paste, pepper, and salt and stir until well mixed 
• Add the fresh mushrooms 
• Cook on high for 10-15 minutes until well browned 
• Turn down the heat to low 
• Add the shiitake mushrooms and soy sauce 
• Mix the apple cider vinegar with 1/8 c water and the sugar Add the mixture to the pan and cook for 2 minutes 
• Keep on low heat until the rice is done 

For the finished soup:

• Once the rice is done strain the cooking liquid from the rice. 
• Reserve the cooking liquid and set the rice aside. 
• Using the same pot you cooked the rice in combine the sauteed mushrooms, the rice liquid (add water to the rice liquid for a total of 3 c.) and the vegetable broth and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Add a mixture of 1/4 c. corn starch and 1/4 c water to thicken. 
• Turn the heat down to low or off depending on how well your pot holds heat. 
• Add the rice, cream, and lemon zest and let sit in the warm pot for 20 minutes before serving. 

Equipment needed: large sauté or frying pan, large oven-proof pot