Learn to cook dinner wild rice on the stovetop! With its chewy texture and nutty taste, this complete grain is scrumptious in salads, facet dishes, and extra.
Wild rice is certainly one of my favourite complete grains to cook dinner within the fall. Its chewy texture and nutty taste make it an ideal accomplice for seasonal produce like candy roasted squash and earthy root veggies. As a result of I’ve discovered myself making ready it so much these days, I assumed I’d take as we speak’s put up to present you some background on it. I’m additionally sharing a foolproof stovetop cooking methodology and a few of my favourite wild rice recipes.
What’s wild rice?
You would possibly assume, given its title, that this complete grain is a relative of the white or brown rice you’d discover alongside it on the grocery retailer. In actual fact, wild rice isn’t rice in any respect, however a kind of aquatic grass. It’s indigenous to the Nice Lakes area of North America, the place it grows naturally in freshwater lakes and waterways. As we speak, it’s also cultivated commercially in america and Canada.
Wild rice, referred to as manoomin in Ojibwe, has important cultural significance to the Indigenous peoples of the Nice Lakes. It’s a part of the Anishinaabe creation story, and traditionally, it offered important sustenance all through the higher Midwest’s chilly winters. Indigenous individuals proceed to hand-harvest naturally occurring wild rice across the Nice Lakes as we speak, knocking the grass with wood sticks in order that it releases the grains of rice into their canoes. If you wish to study extra concerning the rice’s historical past and cultural significance, I like to recommend studying this text or this one. You should buy hand-harvested rice from Native Harvest in Minnesota right here.
Prepare dinner Wild Rice
Hand-harvested wild rice will be gentle or darkish in coloration, whereas the cultivated type is all the time darkish brown or black. This cooking methodology will work with both kind, however be aware that hand-harvested rice tends to cook dinner extra shortly. Relying on the range, it is likely to be prepared in as little as 20 minutes, whereas the cultivated wild rice you’d discover on the grocery retailer will doubtless want 50 or extra.
- Begin by bringing a medium pot or saucepan of water to a boil. No want to fret a couple of particular rice-to-water ratio for this recipe. We’re going to make use of what I name “The Pasta Technique,” which simply implies that we’ll cook dinner the rice in a pot of boiling water. Whereas the water involves a boil, place the rice in a fantastic mesh strainer and rinse it effectively.
- Then, add the rinsed rice to the boiling water. Cut back the warmth in order that the water maintains a delicate boil. Simmer till the rice is tender however nonetheless has a slight chunk, usually 35 to 55 minutes, although the cooking time could possibly be roughly relying in your rice. Among the grains will begin to cut up open barely.
- Lastly, let the rice steam. Drain off the liquid, return the rice to the pot, and canopy it with a clear dishtowel. Place the lid on the pot, and permit the rice to sit down for 10 minutes, turning into absolutely tender and fluffy.
Fluff with a fork, and luxuriate in!
Favourite Wild Rice Recipes
With its nutty taste and chewy texture, the cooked rice is a scrumptious facet dish by itself. Once I serve it actually merely, I gown it with olive oil, pinches of salt, and freshly floor black pepper and toss it with some chopped recent parsley.
It’s an excellent addition to bigger salads, soups, and facet dishes as effectively. Attempt utilizing it in any of those recipes:
It will even be a stunning gluten-free different to the wheat berries on this autumn wheat berry salad recipe.
Extra Entire Grains to Attempt
When you love this wild rice recipe, strive certainly one of these complete grains subsequent:
Prepare dinner Wild Rice
Serves 4
This methodology for the best way to cook dinner wild rice will work for each hand-harvested and commercially cultivated rice, although the cooking time can range extensively. I discover that it usually takes 35 to 55 minutes for each varieties, although hand-harvested rice may have much less time (begin checking at 20 minutes if in case you have light-colored rice) and cultivated rice may have extra, as a lot as 70 minutes.
- 1 cup wild rice, rinsed
- Pot of water
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Deliver a medium pot of water to a boil over excessive warmth. Add the rice, scale back the warmth to a delicate boil, and cook dinner till the rice is tender however nonetheless has a slight chunk, usually 35 to 55 minutes. The grains will begin to cut up open barely.
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Drain and return the rice to the pot. Cowl with a clear dish towel after which place the lid on the pot. Let steam for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.
Yield: About 3 cups cooked wild rice
