Wild Rice

With November upon us and considering my location...I have to talk about wild rice.

Here in the Great Lakes area you can buy wild rice anywhere.  Vendors along the roadside or at almost any store.  If you are lucky maybe even directly from a Native American.  It is a long-grain marsh grass native  to the Northern Great Lakes area and harvested by the local Indians.  Living in Wisconsin or Minnesota you get very familiar with this rice.

Wild rice has a nutty flavor and chewy texture.  Often cooked and used like brown and white rice.  One cup of raw rice yields three to four cups of cooked rice.  It is important to clean wild rice thoroughly before cooking it.  Depending on the method used, wild rice can take up to an hour to cook.  I often include wild rice for Thanksgiving because it is one of the original native foods.

This is a basic recipe.  It is a good place to start if you are up for a new side dish.

Basic Wild Rice

Cook according to the package or if you buy it bulk try this.

1 cup raw rice - washed and drained
3 cups Pacific organic chicken broth low sodium or just water
Salt to taste

Put rice and stock in kettle, bring to boil.  Reduce heat cover and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  I add salt in the water in the beginning then I adjust for taste after.

My pictures feature the grain raw and then cooked.  This time I sauteed onion, celery and mushrooms in olive oil then added the rice to it.  So many possibilities for ingredients to add.  I am working on my recipe for Thanksgiving.  So find some wild rice and feel a little connected to the spirit of a native food.