Savory Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Wild rice always makes me think of my time living in Minnesota! This just might be the perfect day to make this soup:
(serves 6-8)

1/4 oz. dried shitake mushrooms, rinsed
4&1/2 cups water
2 sprig fresh lemon* thyme (again, I encourage you to grow your own herbs - WAY fun!)
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, peeled, plus 4 cloves, minced
Sea* salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 t. baking soda
1 cup wild rice
4 T. butter*
1 lb. crimini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/4" thick
1 sweet* white onion, finely chopped
1 t. tomato paste
2/3 cup dry sherry
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 T. Ponzu Citrus Sauce* (or you can use soy sauce)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
1/4 t.  finely grated lemon zest

Adjust oven rack to middle positron, and heat oven to 375. Grind (or you can use a blender) shitakes in a spice grinder until finely ground. You should have about 3 T. Bring 4 cups of water, thyme, bay leaf, garlic clove, 3/4 t. salt, and baking soda to boil in a medium oven proof saucepan over high heat. Add rice and return to boil. Cover saucepan, transfer to oven, and bake until rice is tender, 35-50 mins. Strain rice through fine-mesh strainer set in 4-cup liquid measuring cup; discard thyme, bayleaf and garlic clove. Add enough water to reserved cooking liquid to measure 3 cups. Melt butter in Dutch oven over med.*-high heat. Add crimini mushrooms, onion, minced garlic, tomato past, 3/4 t. salt, and 1 t. pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned and dark fond develops on the bottom of the pot, 15 mins. Add sherry, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until reduced and pot is almost dry, about 2 mins. Add ground shitake mushrooms, reserved rice cooking liquid, broth, and Ponzu, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered until onion and mushrooms are tender, about 20 mins. Whisk cornstarch an remaining 1/4 cup water in small bowl. Stir cornstarch slurry into soup, return to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2 mins. Remove pot from heat and stir in cook rice, cream, chives, and lemon zest. Cover and let stand for 20 mins. Season with S&P to taste. I would serve a French style flatbread baked with Emmental cheese, a shredded iceburg lettuce salad with hearts of palm rings, and freshly snipped green onions with Trader Joe's Goddess dressing, and buttered radish slices (see a previous blog) with this soup. YUMOLA!!!!

"We must lose what we think we know so that we can come to see what we least expect."

Have FUN today.

Love,

MM