Corn and Wild Rice Soup With Smoked Sausage

“Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living.  For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.”    ~Louis P. De Gouy, The Soup Book (1949)

 
This is a hearty winter soup that is very simple to prepare, and even more simple to eat.  It's truly a Midwestern dish because it's made with wild rice.  Northern wild rice, called manoomin by the Ojibwa (which means "good berry"), grows wild in the shallow water of small lakes and streams.  Native Americans harvested the rice by pulling their canoes into stands of wild rice grass and bending the stalks into the boats to knock off the grain.  Wild rice is packed with protein and fiber.   It smells awful when it's cooking, but don't let that discourage you. The final product smells good and is tasty.  Add cream or half & half to create a potage, but I prefer to keep it thin.   Approximately 12 servings

64 oz. chicken broth
8 ox. Northern wild rice
1 can corn
1 can creamed corn
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 fully cooked smoked sausage (such as low-fat turkey kielbasa), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 medium-large carrots, peeled, diced
2 medium onions, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Optional (if not concerned about calories or arteries):

1/4 cup cream or half and half, at the end, and whisk vigorously.
OR
a dollop of sour cream

Bring 4 cups broth to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add wild rice, cover and reduce to a low heat. Simmer until all liquid evaporates and rice is almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 60 minutes.

Sauté onion and carrots for 7-8 minutes in the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook another 5 minutes. Add remaining chicken broth, cooked rice, corn, salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and cook until wild rice is very tender and flavors blend, about 15-20 minutes longer. Add half and half, if desired.