Wild Rice Soup and Popovers (from Tastemade Struggle Meals)

Ingredients

Mushroom Wild Rice Soup

• 1 cup wild rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 butter packets
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Popovers

• 5 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup milk, warm
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp thyme leaves

Steps

Mushroom Wild Rice Soup

1. Rinse the wild rice with cold water in a strainer. Drain the water and pour the rice into a large saucepan. Cover the rice with 4 cups of water and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid. Simmer for 45-50 minutes. Rice should be chewy but tender when done. Drain the remaining water if needed.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms and sauté until tender and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the white wine to deglaze and release flavor from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth, 1 1/2 cups of water, carrots, thyme, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the heavy cream and cooked wild rice. Finish with the vinegar. Serve with popovers.
3. Cook’s Tip: Wild rice is a tough seed that absorbs water slowly. It can take 45 minutes to an hour for wild rice to fully cook and no longer be crunchy. Since the cooking time can vary it’s easiest to cook the rice like pasta.

Popovers

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the empty muffin tin in the oven to heat for 5 minutes.
2. Mix the eggs, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, salt and thyme in a medium bowl. Add the flour in 1/4 cup increments, whisking well after each addition. The batter should be smooth without lumps.
3. Carefully remove the hot muffin tin from the oven and drizzle 1/2 tablespoon melted butter into each cup of a 12 cup muffin tin. Fill each cup with 1/4 cup of batter, about half full. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until popovers are puffy and golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Remove from the pan and serve hot.