Prairie Fume Chicken Wild Rice Soup

One of my favorite white wines is Prairie Fume and is produced and bottled at the Wollershiem Winery in Prairie Du Sac, Wisconsin. The original recipe for this Chicken with Wild Rice Soup called for white wine, but I added a little extra to really taste the flavor of the Prairie Fume. You could really use any white wine, but make sure you love it because you can really taste it in this soup!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice

7 cups chicken broth

3 cups roasted chicken, cut into pieces

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

2 Tb. vegetable oil

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup margarine

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 cups milk

1 cup white wine (Prairie Fume)

Directions:

1. Cook the wild rice according to package. Set aside.

2. In a large pot, saute the celery and onion in the oil for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until everything is tender.

3. Add chicken broth, diced chicken, and cooked wild rice into pot. Simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, melt margarine in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth. Whisk in milk slowly and continue to cook and whisk mixture until bubbly and thick. Then add all of milk mixture to the broth pot mixture. Stir until fully milk mixture is completely incorporated into broth.

5. In a blender, measure out two cups of the soup mixture. Blend mixture until mostly smooth. Add back to the rest of the soup in the pot. Stir in heavy cream and white wine. Allow all flavors to incorporate uncovered for 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

G's side notes:

I love to partially blend soups that are supposed to be thick. I feel it just helps the thicken process, and blends the flavors. The soup also freezes very well, so you can make a lot, and save it for a rainy (or snowy) day!