Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

I love wild rice soup. I have never been disappointed in any recipe I have used. This one is a bit of a compilation of several. This recipe calls for shallots, leeks, and onions. I really liked the leeks, so I think next time I'll use all leeks (2-3, depending on size). And as much as I love wild rice, to add an entire cup of cooked rice is pretty expensive, so I opted for the wild/brown rice blend (I used Lundberg brand). Also, I'm a real fence-sitter when it comes to sherry. Have been for a long time. Sherry has a wildly distinct flavor that throws whatever you're making into an entirely new realm. This was the first time I had used it in wild rice soup, and I used just a tad bit. This is something very personal, so you decide what you like better. In or out, this is still a great recipe.

One last thing, the original recipe calls for half-and-half. Now, I have tried using fat-free h&h in soups before with no luck. It always curdled. So this time, I cooked the soup completely and let it cool. Then I added the FF h&h and brought the soup back to temp on a very low heat. It worked beautifully! I'm so excited. The fat content of this soup was cut drastically this way!

TURKEY AND WILD RICE SOUP

1/4 butter

2 shallots

1 leek (white and light green parts only)

1/4 medium sweet onion

(or 2-3 leeks, depending on size, sliced)

1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced

1/2 cup carrots, thinly sliced

4 oz sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup flour

5 cups chicken or turkey stock

1-2 cups chopped chicken or turkey

1 cup cooked wild/brown rice blend

2 Tbsp sherry (optional)

2 cups half-and-half

Saute the onion mixture in butter until tender, about 5 minutes. Add celery, carrots, mushrooms and cook about another 5 minutes (medium heat). Add flour, stir well, cook about 1-2 minutes. Add stock. Bring to a boil, turn heat back to medium. Let thicken, about 5 minutes.

Add turkey, rice, and sherry. If using regular half-and-half, add now, bring to serving temperature. If using fat-free half-and-half, let soup cool (will take at least a couple of hours), then stir in dairy, and bring back to serving temp on a low heat.

This recipe made approximately 10 cups of soup.