Wild Rice and Potato
This side dish is a great way to add a little extra to your rice. And believe me, once you’ve tried it you’ll start designing your meals around what goes well with wild rice and potato. For those of you who think this sounds like a plate of stodgy carbs, yes, you’re right, that’s exactly what it is and why it is so good.
Despite the obvious attraction of cooking with wild rice (namely how cool it looks), it is also a great alternative to many forms of rice nutritionally and therefore much tastier. Despite not actually belonging to the rice family, this closely related cousin comes from a freshwater grass. This fascinating grain has been used for centuries across Asia and North America as a food staple that’s high in vitamins, protein, fiber and antioxidants.
Soaking Wild Rice
The best way to cook wild rice is to pour boiling water over it the day before you need it and let it soak for 24 hours. This will reduce the cooking time by half whilst still preserving the lovely chewiness of the grain. Once you’ve soaked the grain, discard the water and rinse the wild rice under cold running water before cooking it. For those of you who worry about food safety with rices, the only reason this soaking practice is safe is because we then cook it the following day before anythings harmful can take hold. Soaking grains like this will also leach digestion inhibiting chemicals from the plant that act as a natural defense against being eaten, making more of the nutrients readily available.
Wild Rice and Potato Recipe
Side Dish for 2
250g wild rice
250g potato
1 white onion
1tsp salt
Optional: cumin seeds, wild garlic flowers, lemon zest and a handful of rocket
Step 1.
After soaking your wild rice for 24 hours, put a saucepan on a high temperature with 500ml of salted water in it. As the water comes to the boil, dice your onion and thinly slice your potato. Add the to a frying pan with enough oil to cover the base 0.5cm deep. Season with 1tsp of salt and turn the heat up high. You will occasionally need to stir the potato around but don’t be tempted to over handle it or you’ll end up with greasy mash potato.
Step 2.
When you pan of water is boiling, add your wild rice and stir to make sure none is stuck to the side. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to a simmer. Set a timer for 20 minutes and leave it alone.
Step 3.
If you wish to do the cumin seed version of this recipe then add them to the potato pan when you have a couple of minutes left on the timer. This will be enough to release the aroma of the spice but not burn them.
When the rice is cooked it should have absorbed all the water during steaming. Remove it from the heat and let it rest for 4 minutes before fluffing it with a fork. Add it to your potato pan and take everything off the heat. Mix the contents of the pan once, then serve it with lemon zest and rocket.