Melt 1 TBSP of butter in a dutch oven. toast the uncooked wild rice for 1 minutes. Pour in 4 cups of water or chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 50 minutes. Remove all the rice from the pan. Cover to keep warm. Do not wash the pan.

Melt 2 TBSP of butter in the dutch oven or a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add in the leeks, carrots, onion, garlic and sauté until tender about 7-9 minutes. Remove the veggies from the pot and set aside in a large bowl.

Add in 1 TBSP of butter to the pan and add in the mushrooms. Spread out the mushrooms in the pan so the surfaces touch the bottom of the hot pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp kosher salt. . Let brown for 1 minute without stirring until the edges of the mushrooms are golden and crispy. You may need to do this in batches. Add in more butter if needed. Once all the edges of the mushrooms are fully browned, add the carrots, leeks, onions and celery back to the pot. Stir in the white wine to deglaze the pan and cook on low until the liquid becomes thickened. Add in remaining butter and the herbs, salt and pepper and cook to coat the vegetables with all the liquid.

Slowly add in the broth and cook until simmering. Add in half of the cooked wild rice. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove the herbs stems from the pot.

With an immersion blender, pulse the soup until it becomes thick and creamy- about 7-9 pulses. You do not want it completely smooth. Add in the remaining rice and heavy cream. Cook another 5 minutes testing for seasonings. Add in more salt and pepper if desired. I like a lot of pepper with this soup so adjust your seasonings as desired for your pallette.

Ladle into bowls and serve with sprigs of thyme or oregano or a decadent drizzle of cream. An earthy Pinot Noir pairs beautifully with this soup.