Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

I've always enjoyed Cream of Wild Rice Soup.  It's practically the state dish of Minnesota (along with a nice walleye fillet).  I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light Magazine so it's much lighter than the traditional version, which usually features heavy cream.  I like to use leftover rotisserie chicken to make it, but after Thanksgiving, turkey is also good.

This could be a weeknight dinner if you made it ahead of time on the weekend.  (The wild rice takes a loooong time to cook.)  It keeps well in the refrigerator.  Hint: don't leave out the Sherry--it imparts a wonderful flavor!

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Adapted from a recipe from Cooking Light Magazine
Makes about 8 cups, serves 4-5

2 tsp butter
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green onion, or leeks
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
32 oz low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
1 cup uncooked wild rice
1/3 cup flour (or 2 Tblsp cornstarch)
2 3/4 cups 2% reduced fat milk
2 Tblsp dry sherry
1/2 tsp salt

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven (large heavy casserole) over medium-heat.  Add carrots, onions, green onions, rosemary, pepper and garlic.  Saute until browned, about 8 minutes.  Stir in broth, scraping brown bits up from the bottom of the pan.  Stir in the chicken and rice and return to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the rice is tender.

Combine flour and milk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add to the soup, cook over medium heat, stirring until thickened, about 8 minutes.  Stir in the sherry and salt.  Serve hot.