This morning upon venturing outside for my daily ‘coffee-run’ I noticed that gorgeous crisp Fall morning air! Immediately my mind conjured images of the cozy days ahead, Salted Caramel hot chocolates, Chunky sweaters and fuzzy lined boots. Ah, I love this season the best!

In the Fall I like to make more meals in the Le Crueset Dutch oven too. Nothing better than filling the room with the smell of a slowly cooked meal, think hearty stews and satisfying soups. I googled ‘Fall Soup Recipe’ and found this delicious recipe by Gimme Some Oven. https://www.gimmesomeoven.com

This for sure will be on my Fall menu. It’s a hearty vegetarian take on the wild rice and creamy chicken recipe I look forward to each year, but it’s vegetarian (can be modified to be vegan) and packed full of yummy vegetables that are so good for you.

Photos and recipe courtesy of Gimme Some Oven.

Here is the recipe;

CREAMY VEGETABLE & WILD RICE SOUP

• 6 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
• 1 cup uncooked wild rice*
• 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 large (about 1 pound) sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 large handfuls of kale, roughly chopped with thick stems removed
• Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

STOVETOP METHOD:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.  Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.
2. Add in the vegetable stock, wild rice, mushrooms, carrots, celery, sweet potato, bay leaf and Old Bay seasoning.  Stir to combine.
3. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer.  Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally.
4. Meanwhile, during those final 10 minutes, prepare your cream sauce in a separate saucepan on the stove.  In it, cook the butter over medium-high heat until melted.  Whisk in the flour until combined, and cook for 1 minute.  Gradually add in the milk, and whisk until combined.  Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture nearly comes to a simmer and has thickened.  (It should be very thick.)
5. Add the cream sauce and kale to the soup, and stir gently until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper (plus any extra Old Bay seasoning, if you would like) as needed.
6. Serve warm.  Or transfer to sealed container(s) and refrigerate for up to 4 days.