When it comes to side dishes, you can count on wild rice recipes to delivery a delicious addition to your meal. Recipes that include wild rice are quick and simple to prepare. Aside from the quickness and ease in preparation, they are also loaded with plenty of health benefits. When compared to brown rice, wild rice contains more Vitamin B3 (also known as Niacin) and other B vitamins. It is also a good source of minerals such as calcium and potassium. Wild rice is also high in carbohydrates and provides a good source of dietary fiber. Raw wild rice contains more than 12 percent of protein as compared to common white rice and other grains.
Wild rice is not only used as side dishes but it can be made into some nutritious and enjoyable meal. The wild rice complements well with other tastes of some foods, which include fish, chicken, duck, mushrooms; or dried fruits, which can make a difference in soup, salad, casserole or in stuffing. You can create a seemingly endless number of easy wild rice recipes and several delicious meals just by simply experimenting with wild rice. Most of these recipes use wild rice to add color to white rice and at the same time extract the smoky and nutty flavor from it.
The Wild and White Rice Special Pilaf Recipe
One interesting recipe that you can easily try at home is the wild and white rice special pilaf. The name of the recipe may sound difficult to do but it can actually be done in just a few steps. Rice pilaf is a manner of preparing rice dish by cooking it with the use of chicken, pork, or vegetable broth.
Before we get to the procedure on how to cook rice, here is a short list of what you may need for this recipe:
- raw wild rice (3/4 cup)
- raw white rice with long grains (1 1/2 cup)
- olive oil, about 3 teaspoons
- chopped onion
- minced garlic
- chopped carrots
- sliced celery
- 4 cups special vegetable broth (you may also use pork or chicken broth for some variation)
This is perhaps one of the simplest and easiest white and wild rice recipes that is worth trying at home. Here is how the wild and white rice special pilaf can be easily done:
- You need to heat olive oil before adding in chopped onions, minced garlic, chopped carrots, and sliced celery in a non-stick frying or saucepan.
- Add in the special broth and uncooked wild rice and bring them to a boil. Cover the pan to cook the rice but keep the heat low for about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Add the white rice into the mix, cover the pan, and cook in low heat for another 20 minutes or so.
Keep in mind that wild rice cooking time usually requires up to 50 minutes. Depending on the wild rice recipes that you want to cook, there are different devices that can be used in order to cook them. Most recipes can be cooked using skillets, saucepans or microwaves. Indeed, a dish that has wild rice in it can be a perfect dish especially during the hot summer months