#COOKING WITH CLORIS--WILD RICE, CHICKEN AND HAM SOUP

Nothing warms on a cold wintery day like a bowl of hearty soup. This wild rice, chicken and ham soup is one of my favorites. I use an Instant Pot to cook it, but a stockpot will also work.

For faster cooking, plan ahead. The next time you make wild rice, cook extra and freeze 2 cups. Likewise, dice leftover chicken and ham and freeze. Pull rice, chicken, and ham from the freezer an hour or two ahead of time to defrost before making the soup.

Wild Rice Chicken and Ham Soup

Ingredients for Wild Rice:

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1-1/2 cups wild rice

Ingredients for Soup:

2 T. unsalted butter

1/2 cup onion, diced

1/4 cup celery, diced

1/4 cup carrot, diced

2 T. flour

3 T. dry sherry

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups cooked wild rice

2 cups cooked chicken, cut in bite-sized pieces

1 cup ham, diced

2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup whole milk

Rinse rice thoroughly before cooking.

Cook the rice in a rice cooker or Instant Pot. If you don’t have a rice cooker or Instant Pot, bring 2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup water, and 1-1/2 cups uncooked rice to a boil. Cover and simmer 50 minutes.

Sauté onion, carrots, and celery in butter. Cover and reduce heat to allow veggies to soften, approximately 5 minutes.

Stir in flour. Stirring constantly, cook for 1 minute. Deglaze pan with sherry, scraping up bits of veggies from bottom of pot.

Add broth, cooked rice, ham, chicken, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in milk. Gently simmer until heated through, but don’t allow the soup to return to a boil.