Mushroom Soup with Wild Rice and Buckwheat Dumplings

Mushroom soup with wild rice and buckwheat dumplings is one cozy creamy soup for freezing winter days. It is wholesome, almost like a stew, and will keep you satiated without a problem. We love mushrooms, especially in autumn when there is an abundance of them in the forest. This creamy, super delicious soup is our favorite of all the different ways to cook and eat mushrooms. Usually, we have it as lunch with a slice of sourdough spelt bread. This earthy and almost nutty bread complements the mushroom flavor wonderfully.

About the ingredients

Most recipe ingredients should be pretty easy to find in your local grocery store or farmer’s market. But, perhaps, the wild rice and dried porcini can present more of a challenge. These you can find in online specialty food stores.

• Wild rice – the wild rice has a somewhat nutty taste, pairing nicely with the mushrooms. Even when thoroughly cooked, it has a slightly firm structure, so you get a nice contrast between creamy and somewhat chewy. I love the combo.
• Mushrooms – I love to mix a variety of mushrooms as this gives an intense nutty mushroom flavor to the soup. In autumn, I use fresh porcini and black trumpets picked in the forest, whereas in winter, I use dried mushrooms. Note that the dried versions, in small amounts, provide much more flavor than their fresh counterparts. However, fresh mushrooms give a fantastic structure that reduces the need for potatoes in the soup.
• Carrot and potatoes will provide additional flavor and texture to the soup. They cook reasonably quickly since they are diced. The potatoes start to disintegrate slowly, allowing the starches to thicken the soup. If you want to use fewer potatoes, you can use sourdough breadcrumbs instead. The flavor and texture will not be the same, though.
• Vegetable stock – You can use mushroom stock instead to intensify the mushroom flavors further. It will be like a mushroom explosion. On the other hand, if you have neither, use plain water. The mushrooms and the herbs flavor the soup enough to be as tasty and flavorful. If you use the stock, make sure it is low sodium or decrease the amount of salt added to the soup.
• Mascarpone – I love adding a small amount of mascarpone instead of cream to earthy soups like this. I find that it binds the flavors much better and provides yet another layer of texture to the soup.

How to make the mushroom soup

Making this dish has three steps:

• cooking the wild rice
• making the soup
• making the buckwheat dumplings

Wild rice has huge grains and cooks for about 45 minutes on medium heat. The important thing is that you can leave it to cook and not worry about it too much. Just make sure to add plenty of water not to dry out and burn. 

While the rice is cooking, you can make mushroom soup. It is pretty straightforward, where you sautée the vegetables and mushrooms, add the stock and cook until the carrots and potatoes are cooked, and potatoes are starting to get mushy.

Now, you have the option to puree a part of the soup or all of it. I usually go for four full ladles, taken from the bottom of the pot. Using the blender, blend until creamy and uniform in texture. Add back to the cooking pot and mix.

At this point, you can drain and add the wild rice to the soup.

Making the buckwheat dumplings

To make the buckwheat dumplings whisk an egg, chopped parsley, and salt until nice and uniform in structure. Add the buckwheat flour and the baking soda and mix until no dry bits are visible.

Bring water to boil in another medium-size cooking pot. Use a small spoon to make the dumplings. Before the first dumpling, dip the spoon into the boiling water, hot it for 5 seconds to get it quite hot and wet. This will enable the dumpling to detach from the spoon easily. Next, scoop a small amount of the buckwheat dough, dip it into boiling water and hold for several seconds. The dough will release from the spoon. The dumplings will double in size and are cooked when they start to float freely. Take them out and drain.

If the above method does not work here are some other ideas that might help:

• get the spoon really hot by placing it in the boiling water for at least 5 seconds, brush off water with a towel and dip it into some oil (the oil will drip since the spoon is hot) – this should make additional layer between the spoon and the dough making it easier to come off in boiling water
• if the above doesn’t work, then try using another dessert spoon (also dipped in water prior) to push the dough off from the first spoon. Do this inside the simmering water, else it will get stuck on the other spoon.
• if none of the above methods work then you can use piping bag. Place the dough into the piping bag and as you squeeze the dough out use (also wetted or oiled) kitchen scissors to cut the dough into bite size pieces. Be careful not to burn yourself as they will splash into boiling water as you cut them.

For extra flavor, you can coat them in brown butter.

Serving the mushroom wild rice soup with buckwheat dumplings

The mushroom soup with wild rice and buckwheat dumplings is hearty and fulfilling, so it can be served as a starter or a main dish.

If you serve a hearty and wholesome bread with it, it is definitely a meal in itself. We love sourdough spelt bread with this soup. The whole spelt flour is sweet and nutty, which complements wonderfully the mushroom flavor. In addition, the bread has a nice crunchy crust, which is great to dip into the soup.

Also, a salad of bitter greens (omit the burrata) goes excellent as it provides a bit of a refreshing taste to the creamy, nutty soup.

Other soup and mushroom recipes

• Carrot and fennel soup
• Coconut pumpkin soup
• Wild mushrooms and leeks with pumpkin gnocchi

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Mushroom Soup with Wild Rice and Buckwheat Dumplings

Nutty, creamy, and wholesome, the mushroom soup with wild rice and buckwheat dumplings is excellent for quick lunch on cold winter days.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Servings 5

Calories: 323.1 kcal

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Equipment & Tools

• Blender

INGREDIENTS

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

THE SOUP

• 74 g wild rice
• 3 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
• 1 red onion (diced)
• 3 celery stalks (diced)
• 4 garlic cloves (diced)
• 1 tsp thyme leaves (fresh or dried)
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 430 g Cremini mushrooms (sliced)
• 315 g oyster mushrooms (sliced, stalkes diced)
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms (torn in pieces)
• 5 g dried porcini mushrooms (crushed)
• 1½ tsp salt (Himalayan)
• 1 carrot (diced)
• 231 g potatoes (~ 3 small)
• 960 g vegetable stock (organic, low sodium)
• 3 tbsp mascarpone
• ¼ tsp black pepper (freshly ground)

BUCKWHEAT DUMPLINGS

• 1 egg (free range)
• 1 tsp flat leaf parsley (finely chopped, )
• pinch salt (Himalayan)
• 46 g buckwheat flour
• ⅛ tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp brown butter (optional)
• 1 tsp thyme leaves (optional)

TOPPINGS

• flat leaf parsley
• thyme leaves (fresh)
• red chili flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

THE SOUP

• Cook the wild rice in plenty of water on medium heat for about 45 minutes or until it is cooked through.
• Meanwhile, prep your ingredients.
• On medium heat, sautee the red onion and celery in olive oil for about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and thyme and cook for half a minute.
• Add the mushrooms and salt. Mix and cook for about 8 minutes. The mushrooms should reduce in volume by half and start to release water.
• Add the carrots, potatoes, and vegetable stock. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through and are mushy.
• Drain the cooked wild rice.
• Cream the soup – Using the blender, cream a portion of the soup along with the mascarpone. Return to the pot and add the cooked wild rice.

THE BUCKWHEAT DUMPLINGS

• Bring water to boil in another medium-size cooking pot.
• Meanwhile, mix the egg, parsley, and salt with a fork. Add the buckwheat flour and the baking powder and mix until no dry bits are visible.
• Use a small spoon to make the dumplings. Before the first dumpling, dip the spoon into the boiling water to get it hot and wet. This will enable the dumpling to detach from the spoon easily. Next, scoop a small amount of the buckwheat dough, dip it into boiling water and hold for several seconds. The dough will release from the spoon. Cook for several minutes or until they are floating. Drain the dumplings.
• (Optional) In a small pan, add the brown butter, thyme and dumplings. Shake the pan to coat the dumplings. Set aside.

SERVING

• Ladle the soup into bowls. Add several buckwheat dumplings. Top with fresh parsley, thyme and red chilli flakes.

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