Wild Rice and Pumpkin Soup

When the climate turns cooler and evenings begin to creep in earlier, comforting meals like this pumpkin and wild rice soup hit excellent. This soup is full-flavored, has a hearty texture, and is satisfying with out being heavy. Earthy mushrooms, candy winter squash, and nutty wild rice simmer in an fragrant broth enriched with pumpkin purée. The result’s a country, flavorful soup with tender greens, chewy grains, and durable greens that maintain their form. A contact of apple cider vinegar on the finish brightens the bowl, conserving every spoonful balanced.

This recipe comes from our colleague Nicole Hopper from our Birmingham, Alabama, check kitchen, who got down to create a fall soup that reads creamy with out counting on dairy. It begins with leeks, carrot, and celery softened in olive oil, then mushrooms go in to brown and focus. Garlic, thyme, sage, and heat spices observe, including light warmth and complexity. Broth and pumpkin purée go in subsequent, giving the bottom its velvety physique. The purée thickens right into a cohesive, silky texture because it simmers, so there is no want to interrupt out a blender.

Wild rice cooks straight within the broth, releasing starch because it softens, which thickens the soup. Regardless of the title, wild rice is not truly rice—it is the seed of an aquatic grass native to North America, historically harvested within the Nice Lakes area. The grains are lengthy, darkish, and shiny, with a agency outer hull and a naturally nutty, toasty taste that holds its personal in hearty fall dishes. Because it cooks, the hull softens and the grain typically splits open to disclose a young cream-colored inside, an indication it is cooked by way of however nonetheless pleasantly chewy. That construction means wild rice releases its starch slowly, giving the soup physique whereas conserving the feel rustic and distinct fairly than thick or mushy. Nicole discovered that including a small pinch of baking soda helps break down the grain’s robust outer layer so it cooks extra shortly whereas nonetheless conserving its signature chew.

About midway by way of cooking, cubes of squash are added to simmer till tender, echoing the pumpkin purée’s sweetness and including heft. Kale is then folded in proper on the finish so it wilts with out dropping its colour or construction. Staggering the additions this manner ensures that every ingredient cooks to its perfect texture—the rice finishes tender however chewy simply because the squash turns creamy and the kale, stirred in on the finish, wilts with out dropping its vibrancy or chew. A last splash of apple cider vinegar balances the earthy richness of the mushrooms and pumpkin, giving the soup a vigorous end. 

Ladle it into heat bowls, end with good olive oil and black pepper, and settle in. It is even higher garnished with chopped candied bacon for a sweet-salty crunch, however should you desire to maintain it vegan, merely use vegetable broth as a substitute of rooster broth and omit the optionally available bacon garnish.