Sunlight Cafe: Wild Rice with Cherries and Hazelnuts

[Guest guest]

* Exported from MasterCook Mac *

 

Wild Rice with Cherries and Hazelnuts

 

Recipe By : Mollie Katzen, Sunlight Cafe

Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories : grains, beans and pasta Sunlight Cafe

breakfast and brunch

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1 cup wild rice

10 1/2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon salt

brown sugar

- or pure maple syrup

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts -- lightly toasted

milk or soy milk or cream

 

Wild rice has been a staple for the Ojibwa, Chippewa, and Algonquin

people for thousands of years. Native Americans in the Great Lakes

region still use wild rice in just about everything: cakes, breads,

omelets, muffins, casseroles, pancakes and so on. The dark, robust

grain (technically an aquatic grass) is complex, nutty, and pleasantly

bitter - and richer in protein, minerals, and B vitamins than wheat,

barley, oats, or rye.

 

Precious Wild Rice

Why is wild rice so expensive? Amazingly, about 20 percent of the

world's crop is still hand-picked by Native Americans in canoes, who

retain exclusive harvesting rights on the reservations along the shores

of the Great Lakes. The crop is an important part of the tribes'

economy.

 

After it is cut, the precious grain is sun-dried, then hulled through

an agitation process in a steel drum. This labor of love has been

virtually unchanged throughout the centuries and to this day, true

heirloom wild rice grows solely in the northern Great Lakes region.

When buying wild rice, look for a 'hand-harvested " or " lake-harvested "

insignia on the package, which verifies the original organic, foraged

variety. By purchasing authentic wild rice, you will be supporting both

the economic system of the Native American harvesters (enabling them to

produce more) and the crop itself, which is ecologically fragile.

 

When shopping for wild rice, you might notice a light brown " wild rice

mix " as well as the more familiar dark variety. This paddy-grown grain

is not the same thing as authentic Native American wild rice. It is

lighter in color and milder in flavor-and cooks in less time and with

less water If you make this recipe with " wild rice mix, " cook it as you

would any long-grain brown rice.

 

Dried cranberries can be substituted for the cherries. Hazelnuts are

also known as filberts.

 

Makes 3 or 4 servings

Preparation time: 1 1/4 hours (2 minutes of work)

 

Place the wild rice, water and salt in a medium-sized saucepan and

bring to a boil over medium heat. When it reaches a boil, cover the pot

and lower the heat to a bare simmer. Cook for 1 1/4 hours, or until all

the water is absorbed and the rice is tender and has " butterflied, " or

burst open. (If the grain has become tender but there is still water

left, drain it off.)

 

Remove from the heat, and stir in the sugar or maple syrup and the

cherries.

Serve hot, topped with chopped hazelnuts and the milk of your choice.

 

Source: Mollie Katzen, Sunlight Cafe

Copyright 2002 Mollie Katzen

MC Formatted by Eruna Schultheiss

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Per serving (excluding unknown items): 143 Calories; less than one gram

Fat (3% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; 0mg

Cholesterol; 155mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 2 Starch/Bread

 

_____