HOW TO MAKE PANERA CREAMY CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP

We all love soup. And most of us love Panera soups. They’re the best. Fresh, savory, tasty soups.

I also love making soups, that, for the most part, are really easy to make. Chop, throw, cook, eat! My version of Panera Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup uses a chicken breast poached in the liquid, but leftover chicken from a rotisserie chicken works just fine.

I thickened it a little at the end with cornstarch, although you can use a flour and water slurry but it can make it a little heavy, after all, there is cream in it. Try not to leave out the sherry as it give it just the right amount of tang and acid for some great flavor. A dry white wine will work as well. Also, I use a wild rice/brown rice blend, but you can put them together yourselves, half wild rice, half brown rice. Make sure you precook the rice for at least 40 minutes (wild and brown rice take much longer than white rice) before adding to the soup at the end.

Let’s make Panera Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup carrots, 1/8 inch coins

• 1/2 cup celery, 1/4 inch dice

• 1/2 cup white onions, 1/4 inch dice

• 1/2 cup white mushrooms, halved and thin sliced

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

• 1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine

• 1 cup cream plus + 2 tbsp

• 1 tsp herbes de Provence or dried savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano to total 1 tsp

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1 bay leaf

• 6 oz boneless chicken breast or equivalent cooked chicken

• 2 tbsp corn starch

• 1/2 cup wild and brown rice mix, cooked

• 1 tbsp chopped celery

Directions:

• Heat a large saucepan over medium-low heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp unsalted butter. Then add the onions, celery, mushrooms, and celery. Saute for about 7 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.

• Add the stock, sherry, garlic powder, herbes de Provence, and the chicken breast. If you are using cooked chicken, do not add at this point. Simmer on low, covered, for 35 minutes until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken and allow to cool. When cool, shred or cut into bite sized pieces.

• Add the cream and the cooked rice and bring to a simmer. Mix 2 tbsp corn starch with 2 tbsp cream and stir into the simmer soup. Allow to thicken slightly. Add the cooke chicken.

• Taste and season with salt and pepper.