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GOLDEN HOUR SOUP

Creamy Mushroom, Sausage & Wild Rice Soup

Creamy without being heavy, Golden Hour Soup is filled with mushrooms, savory Italian sausage, wild rice and fragrant herbs in a light Parmesan cream broth. Use everyday baby bellas or mix in your favorite seasonal mushrooms.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Pacific Northwest Inspired

Ingredients
  

  • - ½ lb mild Italian sausage
  • - 16 oz baby bella mushrooms sliced
  • - 1 Tbsp olive oil if needed
  • - 1 small yellow onion diced
  • - 1 medium carrot diced small
  • - 2 celery ribs diced small
  • - 3 cloves garlic minced
  • - 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves or ½ tsp dried
  • - ½ tsp dried rosemary crushed
  • - ¼ tsp black pepper
  • - ¼ tsp red pepper flakes optional
  • - ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • - 5 cups chicken broth
  • - 1 cup cooked wild rice
  • - ¾ cup half-and-half
  • - ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan plus more for serving
  • - Salt to taste
  • - Fresh parsley or thyme for serving
  • - Small rosemary sprigs optional

Instructions
 

Brown the sausage.

  • Cook sausage in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, breaking it into small crumbles. Once browned, transfer to a plate, leaving a little of the drippings behind.

Brown the mushrooms.

  • Add mushrooms to the pot, adding olive oil if needed. Cook 5–7 minutes until they've released their moisture and begun to turn golden.
  • Add the vegetables.
  • Add onion, carrot and celery and cook 4–5 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, rosemary, black pepper and optional red pepper flakes; cook about 30 seconds.

Make the broth.

  • Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir for 1 minute. Slowly add chicken broth while stirring. Return sausage to the pot.
  • Simmer.
  • Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the broth has lightly thickened.

Finish the soup.

  • Stir in cooked wild rice, half-and-half and Parmesan. Heat gently for 3–5 minutes. Do not boil after adding the dairy. Taste and add salt as needed.
  • Serve.
  • Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan and fresh herbs. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Notes

 

Mix & Match Your Mushrooms: Use all baby bellas or combine them with shiitake, oyster, chanterelle or other mushrooms you enjoy. If using wild-foraged mushrooms, only use mushrooms that have been positively identified as edible.
Change the Meat: Substitute ground chicken, turkey, hamburger, venison or elk for the sausage. You can also use about 1½ cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey; add already-cooked meat with the wild rice near the end.
Make It Meatless: Omit the meat and increase the mushrooms to 20–24 ounces. Use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth.
Make It Richer: Replace the half-and-half with ¾ cup heavy cream.
Wild Rice Shortcut: The 1 cup called for in the recipe is already cooked wild rice. Pre-cooked wild rice is a great time-saver and can simply be stirred into the soup near the end.