Recipe - Spinach Mushroom Wild Rice

 Happy Mother's Day!

A few of years ago my parents visited my sister in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin, where she and her husband had just opened a new business, Hogan's General Store.  Some of you may remember reading my post about their interesting adventure, which you can see HERE.  Anyway, Mom and Dad brought me home a package of Wild Rice, which is abundantly grown and harvested in Wisconsin.  It has been sitting in my pantry ever since.  Finally last week I decided it was time to do a bit of research into the best method for preparing it.  In my reading, I discovered that Wild Rice is not really rice at all, but actually a grass grown in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams.  It is high in protein, lysine, folic acid, Vitamin A, is low in fat, high in fiber, and second only to oats in protein content per 100 calories.  It is gluten free and a good source of minerals and B vitamins.  What's not to like?

Well, plenty, if you don't know how to prepare it. By itself, it can be pretty unappealing.  But combine it with a variety of vegetables, herbs, and nuts, you have a veritable feast of taste and nutrition!  I spent a long time last Saturday coming up with a recipe that I hoped would go over well with my five Sunday dinner participants, including a teenager, and it did!  Maybe it was the fact that everything tastes good with salmon, or maybe it was that everything tastes good at the end of Fast Sunday, but my people consumed it enthusiastically and even had seconds.  Mission accomplished!  Anytime I can add a new recipe to my arsenal, especially a healthy one, it's worth the experimentation involved.  I know Stacey will be happy that I found a way to use her rice, and I hope some of you will try it as well.  I made it on Saturday and it was ready to pop in the oven for dinner on Sunday.  Perfect for your Mother's Day Dinner! 

Spinach Mushroom Wild Rice

• 1 cup Uncooked Wild Rice
• 5 cups Swanson Chicken Broth (3 cans)
• 2 quarts loosely packed Spinach Leaves
• 1/2 pound Mushrooms, diced
• 1 cup chopped Onion
• 1 ½ cup diced Carrots
• 1 ½ cup diced Celery
• 3 to 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 ½ level Tablespoons Flour
• ½ stick Butter
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream or Evaporated Milk  
• ¾  teaspoon Salt
• ¼  teaspoon Black Pepper
• ¼ teas. Thyme leaves
• ½ cup Sliced almonds (optional)
• Minced Parsley (optional)

Dice up the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, mushrooms and coarsely chop spinach.  Set aside. 

 Rinse the rice well and let drain.

Add the wild rice into a medium saucepan with 3 cups of the chicken broth. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to very low and cover the pan.  Check in a couple of minutes to make sure it's simmering, but not boiling too hard.

Simmer rice at least 45 minutes or more until tender and some of the rice has opened up. There will probably be some broth left in the pan.  Drain well and set the rice aside.  Save the excess broth in case you need to thin your sauce a bit later--if not you will just discard it.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Saute the carrots, onions, and celery until the carrots are still firm, but tender.  Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté 2 or 3 more minutes.

Mix the flour with the Thyme, Salt, and Pepper.  Sprinkle this on the vegetables and stir to incorporate it.  Pour in the remaining 2 cups of broth (from the original 5 cups) and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow it to thicken, 2 to 3 minutes.  Place spinach in a large bowl and pour the vegetable mixture over to wilt the spinach.

Add the cooked rice and cream to the spinach mixture and stir. 

Place in baking dish and top with almonds if desired.  I left part of it without the almonds for my non-nut eater.

Cover with foil and refrigerate to cook later, or bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (longer if it's been in the fridge).  Then remove the foil and continue baking for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Just make sure it's hot and bubbly--it's already fully cooked.

 Sprinkle with fresh minced parsley (if desired) and serve. 

Makes 10 servings.