Wild and Brown Rice Pilaf

When I was young, and just learning to cook for myself, I often took cues from popular items from the supermarket shelves. One such thing that I discovered was Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice. But, concerned about unhealthy ingredients even back then, I would make it with only a portion of the flavor pack they provided, which was full of salt, sugar, and other unnecessary chemicals. I then started substituting herbs from my own shelf, and soon realized that I was paying a couple of dollars for what amounted to about a cup of rice, and knew I could do better.

Wild rice was a pretty esoteric item back then, I had to go to a gourmet store to find it, and it was expensive, but still quite affordable compared to the tiny amount that you got in the packaged mix. I still liked using parboiled rice at the time, so I would buy the large bags of Uncle Ben's. I played around with the herb blend, and learned to use stock instead of water for a richer taste.

Over the years, this has become one of the basic dishes in my repertoire. Onions and mushrooms have become a standard additions, and celery if it's on hand. If you like mushrooms, add some dried porcinis to the stock for a really rich flavor. It's easy to make this into a main dish by adding a little chicken or other leftover meat (or tofu), and it can make a great poultry stuffing. In fact, I even add it to the bread mixture that I use to stuff my Thanksgiving turkey. Mixed bread and rice sounds odd, but it really works well.

Eventually, other kinds of rice found their way into the markets, and into my kitchen. These days, I'm most likely to use brown rice, but basmati, jasmine, and short-grain Spanish rice all work well with this. This recipe adapts well to all of them, and it can translate to a risotto quite easily.


1/2 cup wild rice, rinsed and drained
1- 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium white onion, chopped finely
1 stalk celery, with leaves, chopped finely
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic (optional)

1-1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock**
1 cup water
1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
1-1/2 tsp. dried poultry seasoning*
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
salt to taste
1 cup of brown (or your favorite) rice**

Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a small saucepan. Add wild rice, and cook for about 1/2 hour, until kernels start to pop open, but before they're thoroughly soft. Drain and set aside. (Note: Some wild rice directions have you use a smaller amount of water and allow it all to be absorbed. You may use this method if you prefer, but it will be a much heavier and earthy flavor.)

Heat a medium-sized saucepan, then add oil, onions and celery. Sauté until nearly soft, add the mushrooms and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the stock, water and seasonings and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer on low until 6 minutes before the cooking time is done. Stir in the drained wild rice, and continue to cook covered for 6 more minutes. When the cooking time is done, remove from heat, but leave the lid on and do not stir for at least 5 minutes before serving. (This is important for a light and fluffy rice.)

Enjoy.


** Different types of rices vary quite a bit in the amount of liquid they require and the amount of time they need to cook. Follow the recommended amounts and the cooking time on the package of whatever rice you use, less a couple of tablespoons of water to compensate for the moisture in the vegetables.

* I use Penzeys Bouquet Garni blend, but you can use a powdered blend such as Bell's Seasoning with good results. If you use fresh herbs, double the quantity.