• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

FORAGER | CHEF

Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

  • Home
  • About
  • Wild Mushrooms
    • Mushroom Archive
    • Posts by Species
      • Other Mushrooms
        • Lobster Mushrooms
        • Huitlacoche
        • Shrimp of the Woods
        • Truffles
        • Morels
        • Shaggy Mane
        • Hericium
        • Puffball
      • Polypores
        • Hen of the Woods
        • Dryad Saddle
        • Chicken of The Woods
        • Cauliflowers
        • Ischnoderma
        • Beefsteak
      • Chanterelles
        • Black Trumpet
        • Hedgehogs
        • Yellowfeet
      • Gilled
        • Matsutake
        • Honey Mushrooms
        • Russula / Lactarius
          • Candy Caps
          • Saffron Milkcap
          • Indigo Milkcap
      • Boletes
        • Porcini
        • Leccinum
        • Slippery Jacks
    • Recipes
      • Fresh
      • Dried
      • Preserves
    • The Basics
  • Plants
    • Plant Archive
    • Leafy Green Recipes
      • Leafy Green Plant Varieties
    • Ramps and Onions
    • Wild Herbs and Spices
      • Spruce and Conifers
      • Pollen
      • Prickly Ash
      • Bergamot / Wild Oregano
      • Spicebush
      • Golpar / Cow Parsnip
      • Wild Carraway
    • Wild Fruit
      • Wild Plums
      • Highbush Cranberry
      • Wild Grapes
      • Rowanberries
      • Wild Cherries
      • Aronia
      • Nannyberry
      • Wild Blueberries
    • From The Garden
    • Nuts, Roots, Tubers and Grains
    • Stalks and Shoots
  • Meat
    • Four-Legged Animals
      • Venison
      • Small Game
    • Poultry
    • Fish/Seafood
    • Offal and Organ Meat Recipes
    • Charcuterie
  • Recipes
    • Pickles, Preserves, Etc
    • Fermentation
    • Condiments
    • Appetizers
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Side Dishes
    • Entrees
    • Baking
    • Sweets
  • Video
    • Field, Forest Feast (The Wild Harvest)
    • Foraging Videos
    • Lamb and Goat Series
    • YouTube Tutorials
  • Press
    • Podcasts / Interviews
  • Work
    • Public Speaking
    • Charity and Private Dinners
    • Forays / Classes / Demos

Parched Wild Rice-Mushroom Bisque

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Parched wild rice mushroom bisque recipe

With toasted mushroom coutons, hickory nut oil, and brined wild onion scapes.

If you’re a mushroom hunter who likes to pick different types of boletes this mushroom bisque is for you. 2018 was a great year for boletes with our steady, late summer rain, and I got a lot more variety than what I’d say a typical year brings.

Dried Leccinum subglabripes, Boletus pallidus, and Tylopilus indecisus mushrooms

A mix of dried boletes, I used (LtR) Leccinum subglabripes, Tylopilus indecisus, and Boletus pallidus.

The great part about boletes is that with a good rain, at least in my areas in Minnesota, they can seem to be just about everywhere. The downside, which isn’t that bad, is that I might be drying them due to bug damage, and, after they’re dried, some of the small harvests of random boletes, as interesting as they might be, often aren’t as strong or delicious as the more heavy-hitting, dependably flavored porcini type mushrooms.

Parched wild rice mushroom bisque recipe

It’s good to add texture to pureed soups, here I use dried mushrooms cooked and crisped up like croutons.

The “other boletes” are great for one thing though, and thats in blends. In this bisque, I work with both, light flavored boletes, and stronger ones, using them as the backdrop for another one of my favorite flavors: really good wild rice. Besides being a background flavor to the wild rice, I use a few extra dried mushrooms (Tylopilus in this case) that get fried slowly until crisp, and floated on the top of the soup like croutons.

The second, and more innovative part is how the wild rice is used. Typically, when you think of wild rice, you might think of soup, cooked to the beyond, the wild rice long exploded and curled into balls, or what we call “curly worm stage” in kitchen parlance. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll crush a chicken and wild rice bread bowl like any other red-blooded Midwesterner, but it’s not the most finessed way to use wild rice, especially since most of the time, real, traditionally parched wild rice is not being used.

Parched wild rice

The real deal. Note how the wild rice is not dark black, which is from the parching.

Real wild rice = parched wild rice 

Real parched wild rice is toasted over a wood or gas fire, and it shortens the cooking time of the rice to about 15 minutes. The real magic though, is what it does to the flavor. The parching brings out flavors from the rice that completely shame un-parched wild rice, there just isn’t a comparison in how much better it tastes, like fresh garlic vs. garlic in a jar. To me, the very dark black paddy rice tastes like mothballs. Real wild rice is usually about 12$/lb retail, too.

White Earth Reservation does a good parched rice, Sam Thayer does an even better one, and If you’re a chef at a restaurant, KC’s Best is a great quality/price combo, given that they also sell gas-parched rice and wood parched. If you’re not 100% sure you’re getting the real deal, parched wild rice, call someone and ask, as even some good suppliers carry both kinds.

Using Manoomin/ natural wild rice as a flavoring

The flavor of traditionally parched wild rice is so much better that you can actually have the wild rice as the focus of a dish, unlike something else where it’s just starch. Since traditional bisques are thickened with rice, too, it was only a matter of time until I worked out some kind of soup using it as a binder. Not only does the rice thicken the soup, it’s flavor permeates the cooking broth, and then gets amplified even more from pureeing.

This is a rich soup, too, it’s silky and full of flavor, and a little goes a long way. Honestly, it’s likely the best wild rice soup I’ve ever made, and probably the best I’ve ever tasted. I will still crush a breadbowl here and there though. If you have parched wild rice, dried mushrooms and homemade stock, try it sometime. 

Can you use common/blackened wild rice ?

Yes. While the natural wild rice is great here, you can use regular black wild rice too and it will be ok, although you may have to adjust the consistency a bit. 

Parched wild rice mushroom bisque recipe (2)

Parched wild rice mushroom bisque recipe
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Wild Rice Bisque with Toasted Mushroom Croutons

Creamy wild rice bisque with toasted mushroom "croutons"
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bisque, Fermented wild mushrooms, Parched wild rice
Servings: 5 cups serves 2-4

Ingredients

  • 1 qt meat stock mushroom or vegetable stock
  • ½ cup high quality wild rice see my post on wild rice here for a list of suppliers
  • 20 grams mixed, dried bolete mushrooms, or substitute some of your choice (this is roughly 1 cup of dried mushrooms) plus an additional handful of dried mushrooms to garnish (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon finely minced garlic for the mushroom croutons
  • Fresh sliced Italian parsley a pinch for the mushroom croutons
  • 1 oz 1/4 cup small diced celery
  • 1 oz 1/4 cup small diced yellow onion
  • 1 oz 1/4 cup small diced fennel, or leek
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 3 tablespoons lard bacon grease, or cooking oil
  • ½ cup heavy cream or substitute mild cooking oil
  • 2 tablespoons dry sherry optional
  • Hickory nut oil to garnish (optional, or sub good olive oil)

Instructions

  • Rehydrate all of the dried mushrooms in water to cover for 1 hour, swish to clean and remove dirt, then squeeze dry, strain the soaking water and keep both separate. Reserve some of the mushrooms to be cooked as croutons, a couple slices per person will do.
  • Chop the remaining mushrooms, then sweat with the rice and vegetables in the lard on medium heat until translucent, about 10 minutes. Do not color the mixture. Season with a good pinch of salt, it should smell nice and nutty. Deglaze with the sherry, cook off the alcohol, then add the mushroom liquid, reduce by half, and add the meat stock.
  • Simmer on low until the rice is completely cooked, covered, about 45 minutes. Add the cream, then puree the mixture in a highspeed blender until as smooth as possible. If you want to substitute oil for the cream, drizzle in the oil while you puree in the blender.
  • Pass the bisque through a chinois or fine strainer (optional). Double check the seasoning, adjust as needed, then chill until room temp and refrigerate, or serve, topped with the mushroom croutons, drizzle with a thread of good tasting oil (I used hickory nut) and serve immediately.
  • For the mushroom croutons
  • Pat the reserved rehydrated mushrooms dry, then sweat in a small amount of oil on low heat until crisp and toasted. Add the garlic and cook until just ligttly browned, then season with salt, toss in the parsley and cool. The mushrooms should be crisp, nutty, completely dry, and addictive.

Notes

On the wild rice

While the natural wild rice is great here, you can use regular black wild rice too and it will be ok, although you may have to adjust the consistency a bit since it takes longer to cook and may make the soup a bit thick as a result. Make sure to check on it so it doesn't burn. 

 

Related

Previous Post: « Tepary Bean Soup with Galinsoga and Dried, Smoked Goose
Next Post: Miner’s Lettuce »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ellen

    January 26, 2019 at 10:04 am

    I buy wild rice from Sam & Melissa every year. Guess I need to learn how to parch it!

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      January 26, 2019 at 10:14 am

      It should be parched already. I’m assuming they bring it to a parcher before selling.

      Reply
  2. pj

    December 26, 2020 at 7:57 pm

    Loving all the info and recipes you’re offering. Can you recommend particular brands of “Parched Wild Rice,” that are available online or in the SF Bay area, CA?
    Thanks very much,
    patricia

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      December 27, 2020 at 9:36 am

      Kc’s best online. https://www.kcsbestwildrice.com/products

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

James Beard Award Winner

beard award

Subscribe (It’s free)

Forager Chef

Forager Chef

Footer

Instagram

foragerchef

FORAGER | CHEF®
🍄🌱🍖
Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
James Beard Award ‘22
Host: Field Forest Feast 👇
streaming on @tastemade

Alan Bergo
I liked the staff meal I made for Mondays shoot so I liked the staff meal I made for Mondays shoot so much we filmed it instead of the original dish I’d planned. 

Cooked natural wild rice (not the black shiny stuff) is great hot, cold, sweet or savory. It’s a perfect, filling lunch for a long day of berry picking. 

I make them with whatever I have on hand. Mushrooms will fade into the background a little here, so I use a bunch of them, along with lots of herbs and hickory nut oil + dill flowers. 

I’m eating the leftovers today back up in the barrens (hopefully) getting some more bluebs for another shoot this week w @wild.fed 

#wilwilwice #wildrice #chanterelles #campfood #castironcooking
Baby’s first homegrown mushrooms! Backyard wine Baby’s first homegrown mushrooms! Backyard wine caps on hardwood sawdust from my lumberjack buddy.

Next up blewits. Spawn from @northsporemushrooms

#winecaps #strophariaaeruginosa #allthemushroomtags
It’s wild cherry season. I’ll be picking from It’s wild cherry season. I’ll be picking from my favorite spot tomorrow a.m. and have room for a couple helpers. It’s at an event on a farm just south of St. Cloud. 

If you’re interested send me a message and I’ll raffle off the spots. Plenty of cherries to go around. I’ll be leading a short plant walk around the farm too. 

#chokecherries #foraging #prunusvirginiana #summervibes
Special thanks to the beach in Ashland for hooking Special thanks to the beach in Ashland for hooking it up with on-site garnishes. Beach pea flowers taste strong and leguminous, similar to vetch, or like a rich tasting pea shoot. 

#lathyrusjaponicus #beachpeas #peaflower #foraging #northshore #bts
Great, long day of filming in near the south shore Great, long day of filming in near the south shore of Lake Superior yesterday. 

Blueberries were sparse, and some kind of blight seems to be affecting the serviceberries. Chanterelles weren’t as good as 2020, but they were there. 

Quick dip in the Lake Superior after we broke set was a bonus. 

W/ @barebonesliving  @misterberndt @jesseroesler

#barebonesliving #foraging #lakesuperiorrocks #serviceberries #chanterelles #bts
Green ramp seed make a great lactoferment. Just pu Green ramp seed make a great lactoferment. Just put the green seeds in brine in a jar, leave for 2 weeks. 

After they’re sour they can be water bath processed, although I’ve stored them at room temp without an issue too. 

Finished product is great minced or puréed into places where you’d like garlic, capers, or both. 

Makes a great tzatziki with a little crumbled, dried bee balm. 

#tzatziki #ramps #rampseeds #foraging #fermentation
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Privacy

  • Privacy Policy

Affiliate Disclosure

 I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchases help keep this website free and help with the many costs involved with this site as it has continued to grow over the years. 

Copyright © 2022 ·