Almond Wild Rice

I needed something to beef up my leftovers for lunch today, so I made this rice last night. I love it when I have everything on hand to try a new recipe! I REALLY like this rice. I admit that I rely quite often on Far East rice pilaf or Uncle Ben's white and wild rice mix. Not anymore!!! This took a bit more time than the mixes, but it was so worth it. It's totally delicious AND totally nutritious (whole grains only!). I will post the "whole" recipe which makes 8-10 servings. For my purposes, I only made half.

First, prepare your chicken broth by heating it to boiling in the microwave. While it is heating, measure out the wild rice and some of the butter into one saucepan.



Then add the brown rice and the butter to a second saucepan.


Add 3 cups of the hot broth to the wild rice, bring mixture to a boil, then cover and simmer.



(Obviously I had to take the cover off to get this picture!)

Add 2 cups of broth to the brown rice and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer.



Add the golden raisins to the remaining broth. (You could add them in a bowl like I did, or just plop them into the measuring cup.)



The brown rice will need to cook for 35-40 minutes. Check this occasionally; near the end I needed to add a bit of water becuase the rice had soaked it up, but the rice was not tender yet. I also drained the raisins and added that broth to the brown rice while it was cooking. (The recipe actually said not to drain the raisins but I think it still turned out wonderfully.)

The wild rice will cook for 45-60 minutes. Wild rice will pop open when it's done.

While the rice is cooking, saute the almonds in butter until they are golden brown. The almonds really "make" this dish! Do not scrimp on the almonds!



When the rice is cooked, combine both types of rice with the raisins and the almonds in a serving dish and stir well to combine. Add the salt, pepper and parsley. I didn't have fresh parsley, so I used dried. For half of the recipe, 1 Tbsp. was perfect.



This rice dish will be making many repeat appearances on my table!

For more great recipes, visit Mouthwatering Mondays!


Almond Wild Rice

5 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
1 cup golden raisins
6 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 cup uncooked wild rice
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley, or 2 Tbsp. dried
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Heat the chicken broth to boiling in a large measuring cup in the microwave. Place wild rice and 2 Tbsp. butter into saucepan; place brown rice and 2 Tsbp. butter in a second saucepan. Add 3 cups of hot broth to the wild rice; bring to a boil; cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes until liquid is absorbed and rice is done. Add 2 cups of broth to the brown rice; bring to a boil; cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes until done. (check after about 20 minutes and add more liquid if necessary)

Add remaining broth to the golden raisins and set aside. In skillet, saute the almonds in the remaining buter until lightly browned.

Combine the rices, raisins and almonds in a serving dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and parsley and stir well to combine. Serves 8-10.