Kelly Rossiter
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Thanksgiving will soon be upon us, (well, I'm Canadian, so I've already had mine) and it's time to start thinking about what will be on the dinner menu. All this week I will be giving you some ideas for what you could make. Today I'm going to start with a side dish.
I know for lots of people, nothing goes with turkey as well as mashed potatoes with gravy. But if you are feeling adventurous, break with tradition and try this wonderful wild and brown rice recipe. It has some advantages for a Thanksgiving side dish. It's easy, you can make it in advance if you want, it doesn't take up any precious oven space, it is vegetarian and vegan and it is delicious.
The recipe calls for brown rice, but I happened to have some mahogany rice on hand, so I used that and it was a wonderful pairing with the wild rice. It was a really nice chewy texture and had a nuttiness to the flavour that I really liked and it had a beautiful deep colour. I ended up roasting the squash in the oven, which I was already using, then I scooped out the squash and added it at the end. Truth be told, I was too lazy to peel it. The squash I used was the only one out of my pathetic squash harvest. The plants took over my whole garden, had at least 40 blossoms on them, and I ended up with one tiny squash but it was pretty tasty. I forgot to put in the apple, but the cranberries were a nice bit of sweet taste in the with nutty flavour.
Wild Rice and Brown Rice Pilaf with Butternut Squash and Dried Cranberries
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped peeled carrot
1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled seeded butternut squash
1 cup wild rice
1 cup long-grain brown rice
1 apple, peeled, cored, diced
1 cinnamon stick
3 3/4 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; sauté 5 minutes. Add ginger, curry powder, cumin, and garlic; stir 1 minute. Stir in squash and next 4 ingredients. Add 3 3/4 cups water and salt. Bring to boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed and rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cranberries. Cover; let stand until cranberries soften, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Note: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand uncovered at room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap; rewarm in microwave.
Less is More Thanksgiving
Difficulty Level: Easy
Other Thanksgiving Ideas
How to Go Green: Thanksgiving
Make an Impression at Thanksgiving
Recycle Your Thanksgiving Leftovers into Eco-Smart Weekday Lunches
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