Wild Rice Pilaf
The taste of wild rice brings me back to family dinners in the late fall at my grandparents’ house. Coming from a midwestern family, wild rice was as common as grits in the South. It was always cooked with aromatic vegetables like onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and topped with a big pat of melting butter. I would pile my plate high and get a small side of grouse or venison, not being the biggest fan of game at the time. As a grown up, I wish I appreciated having access to wild game at family dinners! Nowadays, I try to share the nostalgic flavors of wild rice with my kids and they aren’t too impressed. Still, I press on! I skew the ratios of brown rice and wild rice so there’s just a hint of the rich, slightly bitter flavor. They still aren’t over the moon about it, but it’s important to me to introduce them to indigenous foods of North America, especially those I grew up eating! I hope your family appreciates this taste of the midwest and if not, you can just use all brown rice!
Ingredients:
Makes 4 servings
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup wild rice
¾ cup brown rice
2 cups chicken broth
Directions:
In a medium pot with a lid, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the shallot, carrot, celery, and garlic and stir until fragrant and softening. Add the salt, wild rice, and brown rice and stir together. Pour over the broth and stir. Bring to a boil. Add a lid and reduce the heat to low so that it’s just simmering. Let it cook for about 35 minutes. It will still have a toothsome bite, we don’t want mushy rice! Use a fork to fluff the rice a bit before serving. Enjoy!
