tried and true recipe with wild rice, chicken, and mushrooms?
November 23, 2024 4:23 PM Subscribe
I'm contemplating a main course with wild rice, chicken, and mushrooms. Probably no cream, milk, cheese, or creamy soup. Maybe plenty of onions. Have you made something like this that you really like?
I'd prefer something on the simple side, not extremely fussy or difficult.
I'm okay with using wild rice plus brown rice.
I like many flavor profiles but am going for something Thanksgiving-y.
Thank you!
I'd prefer something on the simple side, not extremely fussy or difficult.
I'm okay with using wild rice plus brown rice.
I like many flavor profiles but am going for something Thanksgiving-y.
Thank you!
Sounds like a nice pilaf to me.
- Start heating the oven to roast the chicken
- soften the onions in olive oil or butter; 20 min
- add the garlic and mushrooms; sweat over low heat
- add (chicken or veg) stock plus a bit of white wine, twice your total rice volume
- Put chicken in the oven if you haven't already
- bring rice/stock pot to simmer. Add bay leaves
- add wild rice
- Simmer for about 1/2 hour
- add brown rice
- Simmer for about 1/2 hour more until stock is gone (stirring often at the end, adding stock as necessary)
- while simmering rice, get some hazelnuts out
- pound them to coarse chunks and toast them
- when rice is almost done, stir in parsley and thyme.
- Stir in some dried cranberries OR pomegranate seeds (optional)
- You can add chicken pieces and roasting juices at this stage, or you can just serve the chicken with the rice
- Turn off heat, cover rice pot, leave to rest for 10 min
- When rice is rested, stir in hazelnuts
- if you didn't use fruit, stir in grated Parmesan cheese
(If you have vegans for Thanksgiving, this rice dish is easy to make vegan. No chicken or cheese obviously. Olive oil instead of butter.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:18 PM on November 23, 2024 [7 favorites]
- Start heating the oven to roast the chicken
- soften the onions in olive oil or butter; 20 min
- add the garlic and mushrooms; sweat over low heat
- add (chicken or veg) stock plus a bit of white wine, twice your total rice volume
- Put chicken in the oven if you haven't already
- bring rice/stock pot to simmer. Add bay leaves
- add wild rice
- Simmer for about 1/2 hour
- add brown rice
- Simmer for about 1/2 hour more until stock is gone (stirring often at the end, adding stock as necessary)
- while simmering rice, get some hazelnuts out
- pound them to coarse chunks and toast them
- when rice is almost done, stir in parsley and thyme.
- Stir in some dried cranberries OR pomegranate seeds (optional)
- You can add chicken pieces and roasting juices at this stage, or you can just serve the chicken with the rice
- Turn off heat, cover rice pot, leave to rest for 10 min
- When rice is rested, stir in hazelnuts
- if you didn't use fruit, stir in grated Parmesan cheese
(If you have vegans for Thanksgiving, this rice dish is easy to make vegan. No chicken or cheese obviously. Olive oil instead of butter.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:18 PM on November 23, 2024 [7 favorites]
I'd use boneless skinless breasts but skin-on would work fine too. First, brine them. Fill a bowl with a bit of lukewarm water, throw in a handful of salt, stir to dissolve, then add ice cubes to chill; submerge chicken in the bowl for 15 or 20 minutes. This is really important to help create juicy chicken.
Pat dry with paper towel and season the outsides with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary. Pan sear the chicken in olive oil over medium heat, just a few minutes per side to create some fond in the pan, then transfer them to a greased baking dish or other suitable vessel and put them in the oven at 425 to finish cooking through, probably about 15-25 minutes for boneless chicken breasts depending on thickness. Use a meat thermometer and start testing them at 15 and every 3-5 thereafter, depending on temp. Pull them when they're around 155-160, the carryover cooking will finish them off. Rest for 5 minutes.
The minute you put the chicken in the oven, start making a pan sauce by deglazing the pan with a little white wine and then add chicken broth, dijon mustard (start with a coupe of teaspoons and add more depending on how much sauce you want), and fresh rosemary; reduce while the chicken cooks. What you're looking in terms of thickness is if you "scrape" a trail in the pan with the edge of a spatula, it stays fairly stable rather than flowing back in. If you mess up and the sauce is too thin add a cornstarch slurry (stirring) little by little at the end to thicken as desired. Taste for seasoning.
For the mushrooms I'd simply slice them into 1/8" thick "coins" and saute them in butter with finely chopped shallots, adding salt and pepper to taste. Alternatively, you could cut the mushrooms up more finely and saute them in the chicken drippings from pan searing before deglazing as described above, integrating them into the sauce. Either would be delicious, and the second way dirties fewer pans.
Serve all of the above with the rice, prepared per the package instructions (usually simmered in broth or water until it absorbs then steams). Pack the rice into a round shallow container (I reuse the plastic container from sour cream or cream cheese, having been thoroughly emptied and cleaned) to shape it into a "puck" for presentation if you're looking for a little easy flare.
For serving the chicken, plate next to (or over) the rice and ladle the mustard sauce over the top. Mushrooms with shallots alongside or on top as you see fit, if you chose to make them separately from the sauce. The idea is that the sauce is good with everything on the plate so you want to have plenty enough to dress the chicken and soak into the rice.
I'd probably add some more green veg to round things out, a salad or perhaps something like roast brussels sprouts or steamed broccoli if you like those.
posted by axiom at 7:21 PM on November 23, 2024 [1 favorite]
Pat dry with paper towel and season the outsides with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary. Pan sear the chicken in olive oil over medium heat, just a few minutes per side to create some fond in the pan, then transfer them to a greased baking dish or other suitable vessel and put them in the oven at 425 to finish cooking through, probably about 15-25 minutes for boneless chicken breasts depending on thickness. Use a meat thermometer and start testing them at 15 and every 3-5 thereafter, depending on temp. Pull them when they're around 155-160, the carryover cooking will finish them off. Rest for 5 minutes.
The minute you put the chicken in the oven, start making a pan sauce by deglazing the pan with a little white wine and then add chicken broth, dijon mustard (start with a coupe of teaspoons and add more depending on how much sauce you want), and fresh rosemary; reduce while the chicken cooks. What you're looking in terms of thickness is if you "scrape" a trail in the pan with the edge of a spatula, it stays fairly stable rather than flowing back in. If you mess up and the sauce is too thin add a cornstarch slurry (stirring) little by little at the end to thicken as desired. Taste for seasoning.
For the mushrooms I'd simply slice them into 1/8" thick "coins" and saute them in butter with finely chopped shallots, adding salt and pepper to taste. Alternatively, you could cut the mushrooms up more finely and saute them in the chicken drippings from pan searing before deglazing as described above, integrating them into the sauce. Either would be delicious, and the second way dirties fewer pans.
Serve all of the above with the rice, prepared per the package instructions (usually simmered in broth or water until it absorbs then steams). Pack the rice into a round shallow container (I reuse the plastic container from sour cream or cream cheese, having been thoroughly emptied and cleaned) to shape it into a "puck" for presentation if you're looking for a little easy flare.
For serving the chicken, plate next to (or over) the rice and ladle the mustard sauce over the top. Mushrooms with shallots alongside or on top as you see fit, if you chose to make them separately from the sauce. The idea is that the sauce is good with everything on the plate so you want to have plenty enough to dress the chicken and soak into the rice.
I'd probably add some more green veg to round things out, a salad or perhaps something like roast brussels sprouts or steamed broccoli if you like those.
posted by axiom at 7:21 PM on November 23, 2024 [1 favorite]
I think I'd stuff the chicken with rice, mushrooms, shallots and garlic and then pot roast it. Unfortunately, I don't have time to try it out, but I'm pretty sure the rice need to be parboiled before the stuffing and roasting. For a thanksgiving vibe, add some dried cranberries to the stuffing. This is a literal stuffing, to go into the chicken. But you can make some on the side as well, using chicken stock.
What I would do (but this is kind of theoretical so no measurements): I'd dry brine the chicken, rub it with salt the day before and keep it uncovered in the fridge. The day of, I'd pat it dry and season with white pepper.
I'd boil the rice for ten minutes and then drain them.
Meanwhile, I'd finely chop a couple of shallots and some mushrooms and fry these in olive oil till the mushrooms have released their moisture. Add the rice to the pan and let it all get together a bit. Season with salt, pepper and herbs of your choice, I think I'd go for finely chopped fresh thyme and parsley here. Add in some dried cranberries. Leave to cool till you can handle them, then stuff the chicken with as much of the stuffing as you possibly can. Close the cavity with needles or string.
Now take a big pot, and brown the chicken on all sides in butter or olive oil. Then add a glass of white wine and cook till the alcohol has evaporated. Add enough chicken stock to cover 1/2 of the chicken and put a lid on the pot. Cook till the chicken is done. Take out the chicken and strain the liquid into a bowl*. Make a roux of equal parts butter and flour in the pot, and slowly add in the cooking liquids for a gravy. You can add a tsp or more of cranberry jelly to this gravy for deliciousness. The resting chicken may release some juices, add these to the pot. Taste and season the gravy before serving
Meanwhile, you can cook the remaining rice, mushrooms and shallots in chicken stock in another pot. They don't need a lot of boiling, just bring them to a simmer, cook till the stock has incorporated and then leave it to rest.
A salad of kale, oranges, apples and a mustardy dressing would work well with this.
*At this point, you can put the chicken under the broiler for five minutes before resting it, for a prettier presentation
posted by mumimor at 7:22 PM on November 23, 2024 [1 favorite]
What I would do (but this is kind of theoretical so no measurements): I'd dry brine the chicken, rub it with salt the day before and keep it uncovered in the fridge. The day of, I'd pat it dry and season with white pepper.
I'd boil the rice for ten minutes and then drain them.
Meanwhile, I'd finely chop a couple of shallots and some mushrooms and fry these in olive oil till the mushrooms have released their moisture. Add the rice to the pan and let it all get together a bit. Season with salt, pepper and herbs of your choice, I think I'd go for finely chopped fresh thyme and parsley here. Add in some dried cranberries. Leave to cool till you can handle them, then stuff the chicken with as much of the stuffing as you possibly can. Close the cavity with needles or string.
Now take a big pot, and brown the chicken on all sides in butter or olive oil. Then add a glass of white wine and cook till the alcohol has evaporated. Add enough chicken stock to cover 1/2 of the chicken and put a lid on the pot. Cook till the chicken is done. Take out the chicken and strain the liquid into a bowl*. Make a roux of equal parts butter and flour in the pot, and slowly add in the cooking liquids for a gravy. You can add a tsp or more of cranberry jelly to this gravy for deliciousness. The resting chicken may release some juices, add these to the pot. Taste and season the gravy before serving
Meanwhile, you can cook the remaining rice, mushrooms and shallots in chicken stock in another pot. They don't need a lot of boiling, just bring them to a simmer, cook till the stock has incorporated and then leave it to rest.
A salad of kale, oranges, apples and a mustardy dressing would work well with this.
*At this point, you can put the chicken under the broiler for five minutes before resting it, for a prettier presentation
posted by mumimor at 7:22 PM on November 23, 2024 [1 favorite]
The YouTube channel Glen & Friends Cooking has several recipies for chicken and wild rice. The one called a budget casserole doesn't include dairy as far as I could see in a quick look. Didn't look at any of the others.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:49 AM on November 24, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by SemiSalt at 4:49 AM on November 24, 2024 [1 favorite]
Wild rice is quite different from what we think of when we say rice, usually. Could we have a little clarification on what you've got? Are you starting with raw wild rice?
I'm asking because most of the answers so far wouldn't work with true wild rice.
posted by dbx at 5:04 AM on November 24, 2024 [3 favorites]
I'm asking because most of the answers so far wouldn't work with true wild rice.
posted by dbx at 5:04 AM on November 24, 2024 [3 favorites]
Yes and I add cashews
posted by memoryindustries at 5:38 AM on November 24, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by memoryindustries at 5:38 AM on November 24, 2024 [1 favorite]
I'd make gravy, because rice with gravy is just so tasty. Gravy = really tasty stock + a roux(equal parts fat and flour, toasted in in a saute pan until golden-brown) with the broth whisked in to it. It will thicken as you cook it a bit.
.Make broth - 4 cups chicken broth, 2 cups miso broth, 1 cup white wine. Add 2 cups Better Than Bouillon Mushroom broth if you have it. I add a bit of poultry seasoning, salt and pepper as desired. Many broths are quite salty, so check.
.Reserve 4 cups broth for gravy, use the rest to cook rice.
.Cook 4 Tb butter (olive oil, vegan butter) with 4 Tb white flour over medium heat, stirring often, letting it get as dark as a paper bag. Deeper color has more flavor but a bit less thickening power. Whisk broth in. If there are pan drippings add them before straining. A small splash of sherry or cognac is nice to add. If you don't add any alcohol, a small amount of worcestershire sauce is good.
.Strain before serving if there are lumps/ bits. Keep warm.
Cook the rice with more of the broth. I do add brown rice, also cooked in broth.
Stuff the chicken with some mushrooms and onions which will add to the pan juices. Rice stuffing is dense and would really change the cooking time. Mark Bittman's Roast Chicken recipe.
I love sauteed mushrooms, add them to gravy or rice or serve alone. This recipe is reasonable. If you add the mushrooms to the rice, saute them separately for much more flavor.
I'd add a small, simple green salad - arugula's bitterness would work well, with some red pepper slices - with a simple vinaigrette.
Do update the Ask and let us know what you made and how you liked it.
posted by theora55 at 8:08 AM on November 24, 2024 [3 favorites]
.Make broth - 4 cups chicken broth, 2 cups miso broth, 1 cup white wine. Add 2 cups Better Than Bouillon Mushroom broth if you have it. I add a bit of poultry seasoning, salt and pepper as desired. Many broths are quite salty, so check.
.Reserve 4 cups broth for gravy, use the rest to cook rice.
.Cook 4 Tb butter (olive oil, vegan butter) with 4 Tb white flour over medium heat, stirring often, letting it get as dark as a paper bag. Deeper color has more flavor but a bit less thickening power. Whisk broth in. If there are pan drippings add them before straining. A small splash of sherry or cognac is nice to add. If you don't add any alcohol, a small amount of worcestershire sauce is good.
.Strain before serving if there are lumps/ bits. Keep warm.
Cook the rice with more of the broth. I do add brown rice, also cooked in broth.
Stuff the chicken with some mushrooms and onions which will add to the pan juices. Rice stuffing is dense and would really change the cooking time. Mark Bittman's Roast Chicken recipe.
I love sauteed mushrooms, add them to gravy or rice or serve alone. This recipe is reasonable. If you add the mushrooms to the rice, saute them separately for much more flavor.
I'd add a small, simple green salad - arugula's bitterness would work well, with some red pepper slices - with a simple vinaigrette.
Do update the Ask and let us know what you made and how you liked it.
posted by theora55 at 8:08 AM on November 24, 2024 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: THESE ARE ALL GREAT!
dbx, yes, it's true raw wild rice; the package suggests optionally soaking overnight for quicker cooking so I'll probably do that.
I will be marking bunches of best answers but if anyone else has any suggestions please share!
Thank you all!
posted by kristi at 10:10 AM on November 24, 2024 [1 favorite]
dbx, yes, it's true raw wild rice; the package suggests optionally soaking overnight for quicker cooking so I'll probably do that.
I will be marking bunches of best answers but if anyone else has any suggestions please share!
Thank you all!
posted by kristi at 10:10 AM on November 24, 2024 [1 favorite]
I love this chicken and wild rice soup. The sherry really makes it IMO. It tastes like Thanksgiving to me!
posted by little mouth at 3:24 PM on November 24, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by little mouth at 3:24 PM on November 24, 2024 [1 favorite]
Maybe not for this Thanksgiving, but the New York Times has a recipe for Sheet-Pan Turmeric Chicken and Crispy Rice that may provide some ideas. Here is a gift link to it.
posted by gudrun at 9:30 AM on November 25, 2024
posted by gudrun at 9:30 AM on November 25, 2024
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posted by bitdamaged at 6:36 PM on November 23, 2024 [3 favorites]