Herbed wild rice pilaf with mushrooms
70 min · 10 g protein · 211 cals / serving
Chewy, nutty wild rice cooked in stock until the grains split open, then tossed with a big pan of deeply browned mushrooms, soft onion and celery, a big handful of parsley, dill and chives, lemon zest and toasted almonds for crunch. Earthy, savoury and fragrant with herbs: the holiday-table side that is just as good beside a weeknight piece of salmon or roast chicken.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups wild rice (uncooked) wild rice, rinsed
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, low-sodium
- 1 1/4 lb crimini mushroom, sliced
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp butter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp leaves fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
To finish
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh chives, snipped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, plus the zest of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 tbsp chopped almonds, toasted in a dry pan
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Steps
- Put the wild rice in a saucepan with the broth, 2 cups of water and a bay leaf if you have one. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently 45–55 minutes, until most of the grains have split open and are tender but still chewy; add a splash of water if it runs dry before then. Drain off any liquid that is left and discard the bay leaf.
- Meanwhile, brown the mushrooms in two batches so they fry rather than steam: heat half the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add half the mushrooms in an even layer and leave them alone for 3 minutes, then stir and cook 4–5 minutes more, until deeply browned and their liquid has gone. Scoop them onto a plate and repeat with the rest of the oil and mushrooms.
- Turn the heat to medium, add the butter, onion and celery to the pan with the salt and cook 6–8 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the garlic and thyme for the last minute, then return the mushrooms to the pan.
- Tip in the drained wild rice and toss over the heat for a minute so it picks up all the flavour. Off the heat, fold in the parsley, dill, chives, lemon juice and zest and pepper. Taste for salt, and scatter the toasted almonds over the top.
Good to know
My wild rice is not cooking evenly
That is normal: the grains open at different times. Start tasting at 40 minutes and stop when most have split and are tender with a little chew. Soaking the rice in cold water for an hour beforehand cuts about 10 minutes off.
Can I use a wild rice blend?
Yes, a wild and brown rice blend works; cook it by the packet instructions in the same broth. It is softer and less nutty than pure wild rice.
Make it ahead
Cook the wild rice up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. Brown the mushrooms and toss everything together just before serving, adding the herbs at the last minute so they stay bright.
Per
- Calories
- 96
- Protein
- (19%)
- 4 g
- Fat
- (21%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (61%)
- 16 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 276 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1268 kcal goes into the pot and 1714 g of ingredients comes out as about 1314 g of food: 96 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.