Wild Rice With Fennel And Porcini Recipes

WILD RICE WITH FENNEL AND PORCINI

Steps:

• In a small bowl soak porcini in boiling-hot water 20 to 30 minutes, or until softened. Slowly strain soaking liquid through a fine sieve lined with a coffee filter or a double thickness of rinsed and squeezed cheesecloth into a small saucepan, being careful to leave last tablespoon containing sediment in bowl. Boil soaking liquid until reduced to about 1/3 cup. Wash porcini under cold water to remove any grit and pat dry. Chop porcini coarse.
• Bring reduced porcini liquid to a boil with cold water, salt, and rice and simmer, covered, 45 to 50 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. (If rice is tender before liquid is absorbed drain in a colander.) Transfer rice to a serving bowl and keep warm, covered.
• In a heavy skillet cook fennel, onion, and mushrooms in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until fennel is tender, about 10 minutes. Add fennel mixture to rice and toss to combine. Rice may be made 3 hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature. Reheat rice in skillet, adding water to prevent it from sticking to skillet.

BROWN AND WILD RICE WITH SAUSAGE AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Simmer water and wild rice in small saucepan 20 minutes. Drain.
• Heat heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Fry sausage until cooked through, breaking up sausage with fork, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl.
• Add 2 tablespoons oil to same saucepan. Mix in fennel, bell pepper and fennel seeds and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add to sausage. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same saucepan. Add leeks and garlic and sauté until tender and golden, about 8 minutes. Add brown rice and stir 1 minute. Mix in broth and wild rice. Season with pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes. Add hot rice to sausage mixture and toss well. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.) Serve hot.

WILD RICE WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Bring broth to boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat; add porcini mushrooms and let stand until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Finely chop porcini.
• Bring medium saucepan of water to boil. Add rice, salt and bay leaves. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until rice is almost tender, about 45 minutes. Drain; discard bay leaves. (Porcini and rice can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover porcini, soaking liquid and rice separately and refrigerate.)
• Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, garlic, marjoram, thyme and porcini and sauté 5 minutes. Add crimini mushrooms; sauté until tender, about 7 minutes. Add rice and reserved porcini soaking liquid, discarding sediment in bottom. Simmer until almost all liquid absorbed but mixture is still moist, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

PORCINI CHICKEN WITH WILD RICE AND WHEAT BERRIES

Steps:

• Cook rice:
• Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then add rice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until rice is tender and grains are split open, 1 to 1 1/4 hours (not all liquid will be absorbed). Drain in a colander.
• Cook wheat berries while rice simmers:
• Bring remaining 4 cups water to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan, then stir in wheat berries and 1 1/4 cups porcini. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, over low heat until wheat berries are tender, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and pour wheat berry mixture into a large sieve set over another saucepan or a skillet. Reserve wheat berries and porcini in a bowl and boil cooking liquid until reduced to about 1 cup, then add to wheat berry mixture. (Cut up any porcini that are large.)
• Cook chicken:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
• Grind remaining 3/4 cup porcini to a powder in coffee/spice grinder. (If porcini are too moist to grind, dry completely on a baking sheet in oven 3 to 5 minutes, then cool before grinding.)
• Pat chicken dry, then arrange in 1 layer on a sheet of wax paper. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and season with pepper. Put porcini powder in a fine mesh sieve and dust both sides of chicken generously, shaking off excess.
• Heat oil and 1/2 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown chicken in 2 batches, without crowding, turning over once, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to a shallow baking dish as browned (reserve fat in skillet). Bake browned chicken until just cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes, then let stand 5 minutes before slicing.
• While chicken bakes and stands, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to fat in skillet and cook garlic over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add wild rice, tomatoes, and wheat berry mixture (including reduced cooking liquid) and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stir in dill and season with salt and pepper. Slice chicken and serve with rice mixture.
• *Available at natural foods store and specialty markets.

BROWN- AND WILD-RICE PILAF WITH PORCINI AND PARSLEY

Steps:

• To a small saucepan of boiling water add the wild rice, remove the pan from the heat, and let the rice soak for 30 minutes. In a small bowl combine the, porcini and the hot water and let the mushrooms soak for 30 minutes. Strain the mixture through a rinsed and squeezed paper towel set over a measuring cup, reserving 3/4 cup of the soaking liquid, wash the porcini under cold water to remove any grit, and chop them. In a large saucepan bring the cold water and the porcini soaking liquid to a boil, stir in the wild rice, drained well, the brown rice, and the salt,and simmer the mixture, covered for about 40 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. While the rice is cooking, in a large skillet cook the onion in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is softened and stir in the porcini. Add the rice to the skillet with the parsley and salt and pepper to taste and combine the mixture well.