Terri’s Wild Rice Corn Chowder
Fall means its soup weather! And when cooler weather starts to roll in, my friend Terri Milligan’s wild rice and corn chowder really hits the spot.
You may be surprised to learn that wild rice isn’t a rice at all. Wild rice is harvested from a long grain marsh grass often referred to as an aquatic cereal grain. Cereal grains are members of the grass family and harvested for their seeds. Wild rice holds the title of the only cereal grain native to North America. The reed-like wild rice plants are found in isolated lakes and river beds where they grow in low, swamp-like areas. Most wild rice available today is not wild at all, but grown in man-made paddies that are machine harvested. Marketed as cultivated wild rice, the kernels are darker, almost black in color and tend to be a bit chewier than wild rice grown naturally. Cultivated wild rice also lacks some of the traditional earthy flavor. However, it is less costly and more widely available.
Wild about wild rice
Remember to precook the wild rice when making my soup recipe. Cultivated rice will take between 50 to 60 minutes of simmering to cook while traditional hand-harvested wild rice takes only 30 to 35 minutes. And remember that the wild rice will expand when cooking. It only takes about ⅓ cup of raw wild rice to make 1 cup cooked wild rice.
Wild Rice Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, cut into a ½ -inch dice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- ⅔ cup finely diced white onion
- ½ cup diced celery
- 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1½ cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried cracked rosemary or 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
- 2 cups cooked wild rice
- Rosemary oil to drizzle on top (optional)
Instructions
- In a stockpot over medium heat, cook the diced bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat. In the same pot on medium heat, melt the butter along with reserved bacon fat. Add the diced sweet potato, onion, and celery. Cook on medium-low heat for 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables begin to soften. Add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the corn, salt, white pepper, and rosemary.
- Transfer half of the soup to a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Add the pureed soup back into the pot. Add the cooked wild rice and the reserved bacon. Simmer for 2 minutes to heat through.