Apple Wild Rice

I liked the sound of serving the roasted pork tenderloin with apple gravy on a bed of wild rice cooked in apple sauce. I thought that just plain wild rice might be a little boring so I tweaked it a bit. I cooked the rice in fresh apple cider from the farmers market and chicken stock to give the rice a nice spiced apple and savoury flavour. I also wanted some more vegetables in the meal and the rice was a perfect spot to put them. Onions, carrots and celery form the base of lots of soups and sauces and I thought they would go well with he wild rice. Given the apple nature of the rice so far I thought that adding some sweet raisins would also be nice. Before serving the wild rice I topped it off with some chopped toasted pecans to add a contrasting texture. the apple wild rice turned out great! I really enjoyed the apple flavour of the tender wild rice. I am going to have to think of other flavours that I can add to rice by cooking it in different liquids. Overall the rice had a nice balance of sweet and savoury and it was full of flavour. I could easily eat a bowl of this rice all by itself. This would make a great side dish for many different meals.

Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 small onion (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
1 rib celery (chopped)
1 cup wild rice
1 handful raisins
1 bay leaf
1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable)
1 cup apple cider
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon oil
1 handful pecans (toasted and chopped)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the garlic, onion, carrot, and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the wild rice, raisins, bay leaf, chicken stock, apple cider, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer covered until the rice is al dente, about 50 minutes. Check at intervals and if it needs more liquid add some.

Similar Recipes:
Sausage on Lentils and Greens
Apple Wild Rice Salad