The Best Wild Rice Ever!

My beloved mushroom is a perfect pair for the wild rice

I have lived most of my life in Brazil where both mushrooms and wild rice are scarce. For my happiness I ended up in Minnesota and now, what used to be a treat, is a big part of my diet. You can find mushrooms in my fridge at any given day! Now the wild rice is something I crave every year when the cold weather starts. I happen to think that those two ingredients are a perfect marriage.

This wild rice is my version of the first wild rice I ever had. The original is a recipe that father-in-law prepares every year for Thanksgiving. We wait all year long for this dish that combines the earthiness of the rice and mushrooms, the sweetness of the cooked onions and peppers, the comforting flavors from the chicken broth, the earthiness from thyme and rosemary, the crunch from the walnuts...I could go on the on about how much I love this recipe.

I know it will be a long time until the next Thanksgiving, but since it is cold outside and I am craving wild rice, let's do it!

The Best Wild Rice Ever!

The Best Wild Rive Ever

Also known as Wild Rice with Mushrooms and Red Bell Peppers 

Ingredients

For the Rice:

1 cup of Wild Rice, dried

3 cups of low sodium chicken broth

For the Vegetables:

8 tablespoons of Butter

1 tablespoon of Olive Oil

1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced into strips

1 /2 Orange Bell Pepper, sliced into strips

1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper, sliced into strips

1 Yellow Onion (medium size), sliced

9 cloves of Garlic, sliced

12 Mushrooms (Baby Bella or White Button), cut in fourths

1/2 tablespoon of Fresh Thyme, finely chopped

1/2 tablespoon of Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped

1 cup of Walnuts, halves and pieces

3/4 cup of dry White Wine

1 cup of water

1 cup of beef broth

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (I used 1/2 teaspoon of each. Keep in mind that the butter and chicken broth already have salt)

Preparation

Rice:

Combine 1 cup of dried wild rice and 3 cups of beef broth in a large pot. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat, turn it down to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook the rice until it is starting to become tender but not completely cooked (about 40 minutes). Discard any remaining liquid. Set it aside.

Vegetables:

Choose an oven proof pan* with a lid (I use a Dutch oven pan). Over medium high heat melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Add the olive oil and follow with the onions, bell peppers, garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Stir it around until the vegetables start to soften (15 min). Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes. It is going to look like this:

Now add the cooked wild rice into the vegetable mixture. Also add the other 4 tablespoons of butter, the walnuts, the white wine, the chicken broth, and the water. Stir all the ingredients until the butter melts. Cover the pot with a lid and put it in the oven for approximately 1 hour, or until the rice and the vegetables are cooked through and all the liquid is absorbed. Make sure to occasionally check on the rice at this stage. You want to make sure there is enough liquid for the rice to absorb and cook.

This rice can be served hot or at room temperature. It also keeps very well in the refrigerator. I would say it is even better on the next day!

* If you don’t have a Dutch oven pan you may use a baking dish tightly covered with foil