• 1 1/2 cups wild rice
  • 32 ounces chicken stock
  • 2 slices of bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
  • 1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

I like wild rice as a side dish for its ability to be cooked to several stages of doneness.  This allows me to present it in so many different ways.  I came up with this recipe when a client told me they wanted something for a picnic luncheon for her employees.  She wanted something cool and sophisticated without being complicated or fussy – but she also wanted her dish to be the star.  Judging from her complements after the event, this dish was a success.

In addition to a few other ingredients, like pecans, dried cranberries and red bell pepper, there are only 2 cooked components; wild rice and bacon.  It can be made a day in advance and finished in a snap.

Wild rice is actually not a rice a all.  It’s a cereal grain from several species of grasses and has been part of the diet of a number of Native American tribes for centuries.  Wild Rice has a bold, dark color and a slender, elongated shape.  It has a nutty flavor, is high in protein, the amino acid lysine and dietary fiber, low in fat and has no gluten.

Cooked wild rice goes through several stages of readiness: Stage 1 provides for a tender inside but a chewy exterior, raw nut like in texture as you chew – the cooked grain will just begin to show signs if splitting; Stage 2 provides for a tender inside and a fairly tender exterior with a texture that chews like a whole grain rice – the hull of the cooked grain will have completely split exposing the light colored interior; finally, Stage 3 provides for a completely soft grain, inside and out – the hull will have completely split and the ends of the grain will have begun to curl back on itself.  This final stage is typically only seen in soups.

This recipe calls for the wild rice to be cooked to Stage 1.  I like salting the chicken stock while cooking wild rice, but this is a taste preference.  If you want to cut back on the sodium in your diet, hold off on salting the stock as you cook the wild rice.

Directions:

  1. In a 3 to 5 quart stock pot, bring to the chicken stock to a light boil and add the wild rice.  Stir occasionally and boil for 35 to 45 minutes or until the rice reaches Stage 1 of doneness (see above).  You can check this along the way by pulling out a few grains with a fork and “chew testing.”
  2. Strain the wild rice, discard the stock and place the wild rice in the refrigerator to cool.
  3. Once cooled, combine with all the other ingredients, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.
  4. Serve chilled with a squeeze of fresh orange or lemon.