Creamy mushroom soup with naked oats

Rice-like grain adds texture and flavour to soup!

Naked Oats is marketing-speak for Cavena Nuda, an amazing variety of hull-less (naked, get it?) oats that researchers at Agriculture Canada developed a few years ago. Also called Rice of the Prairies, this grain looks and cooks like rice, but has an incredible nutrition profile. These oats are high in fiber and protein, are a good source of iron and they’re gluten-free too. Many natural food stores carry Cavena Nuda or can order it in for you. Extremely versatile, Naked Oats’ chewy texture and nutty flavour make them a great addition to soups and stews like this very tasty mushroom bisque.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced fine
• 1 carrot, diced fine
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) butter
• 1/3 cup (90 mL) Cavena Nuda (Naked Oats)
• 8 ounces (226 grams) cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 4 cups (1 L) low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) butter
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) flour
• 1 cup (250 mL) milk
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) pepper

Method

• Melt butter in a large pot. Add onion, celery and carrot; saute till onions begin to soften.
• Add Cavena Nuda and stir, coating grains with butter.
• Add mushrooms and saute till mushrooms are beginning to brown.
• Add stock and bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 40 minutes.
• While soup simmers, make a white sauce by melting butter in a small saucepan.
• Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until flour smells a bit like cookies baking.
• Slowly add milk, whisking constantly, to form a smooth paste at first, then a smooth sauce. Add thyme and pepper. Cook over medium heat, whisking often, until thick.
• After soup has simmered for 40 minutes (the time it takes for the Cavena Nuda to soften), add the white sauce to the soup.  Stir thoroughly and check the taste; add a bit of salt if needed.

Serves 4.