Home cooks recognize the usual method to make a cream soup – with cream – although the diet- and health-conscious may use lower-fat milk, even non-fat skim milk.
Another method is to use puréed cream-textured vegetables, in this low-calorie CREAMY WILD RICE SOUP, potatoes and parsnips.
The root vegetables do add today’s verboten carbs but also fiber, vitamins and minerals with a minimum of saturated fat. Watch for recipes, especially soups, that use vegetables rather than dairy products to produce creaminess – without cream.
Cook’s Illustrated, the perfect ingredient and method magazine that produces television’s America’s Test Kitchen, claims that Swanson’s canned Natural Goodness no-fat chicken broth rates highest in taste tests. When using broth powder mixed with water, additional salt is usually unnecessary. For a heartier soup, double the wild rice or add poached chicken near the end. For a less rustic version, add a splash of sherry. Now is the time to consider an immersion blender, an invaluable tool available in kitchen and home stores for about $25. After long avoiding one, I now find it indispensable for puréeing foods, whipping cream and mincing herbs. And compared to a gummy blender, the interchangeable attachments are small and wash up easily in the dishwasher.
CREAMY WILD RICE SOUP
Time to table: 35 – 65 minutes
Makes 8 cups
- 2-1/4 cups water
- 1/2 cup wild rice, native or cultivated
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups sliced leeks, white and light green parts only (about 4 leeks)
- 2 cups chopped celery (about 4 stalks)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 clove garlic
- 5 cups no-fat chicken broth
- 2 cups red potatoes, skins on, chopped (about five small potatoes)
- 2 cups parsnips, peeled and chopped (about 3 medium)
- Additional chopped parsley
Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add wild rice and simmer until al dente and nut-flavored, about 25 minutes for native wild rice and 60 for cultivated.
Meanwhile, heat a four-quart Dutch oven and melt butter. Add leeks and celery, sauté on medium high until soft and just beginning to brown. Add parsley and garlic, sauté another minute or two. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and parsnips and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 – 30 minutes or until potatoes and parsnips are soft.
With a standard or immersion blender, purée (using small batches and extra care with a standard blender) hot vegetable broth, leaving some chunks. Stir in wild rice and serve. Season to taste and serve garnished with additional parsley.
More Wild Rice Recipes
• 2007 | For an Objiway legend about wild rice, see my recipe for Wild Rice Salad.
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