NATIVE AMERICAN WILD RICE RECIPES

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a soup pot.
• Saute the onion until it is softened.
• Blend in the flour and then gradually stir in the chicken broth. Stir constantly until it comes to a boil, keep stirring for one more minute.
• Add wild rice, ham, carrots, almonds, salt and simmer about 5 minutes.
• Add half-and-half and sherry, heat until just heated through.
• Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives.

Steps:

• Turn on the sauté setting on a 6- to 8-quart electric pressure cooker. Melt the butter, then add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the mushrooms and 1 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and shrunk a bit, about 8 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, chopped garlic, thyme, garlic powder and several generous grinds of black pepper. Stir to combine. Add the flour and stir until the vegetables are evenly coated and no white spots remain.
• Pour in the stock and wine, and turn off the heat. Scrape the bottom of the pot very well to incorporate flour and any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom. (This will add flavor and also prevent a burn warning later.) Stir in the wild rice.
• Cook on high pressure for 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pressure reduce naturally for 10 minutes, then release the remaining pressure manually.
• Stir the soup and check the texture of the wild rice; if it needs a bit more time repeat the pressure cooking process for a cook time of 2 minutes and rapidly release the pressure. Check the texture of the soup; if you’d like it to be thicker, turn on the sauté function and let the soup simmer to reduce to desired consistency. Turn off the heat.
• Put the sour cream in a small bowl and slowly whisk in a few spoonfuls of warm soup until smooth, then stir the mixture into the soup. (This prevents the sour cream from separating.) Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve the soup in bowls topped with chopped scallions or chives and dill. Reheat any leftovers on low until warm. (Boiling can cause the sour cream to break.)