Wild Rice With Hazelnuts And Citrus Recipes

WILD RICE WITH WATERCRESS AND HAZELNUTS

Steps:

• Cook rice and bay leaf in a large pot of boiling salted water until some grains have burst and rice is tender, 45-55 minutes. Drain thoroughly and spread out rice on a rimmed baking sheet to cool; discard bay leaf.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Toast hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until slightly darkened and fragrant, 8-10 minutes. Let cool, then rub hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel to remove some of the skins. Gently crush nuts by pressing under the flat side of a chef's knife; set aside.
• Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-low. Cook onion and garlic, stirring often, until onion is golden, 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Whisk vinegar, maple syrup, and mustard in a large bowl until smooth. Scrape in onion mixture and cooled rice and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Fold in nearly all of the hazelnuts and cress, then transfer to a platter. Top with remaining hazelnuts and cress.
• Do Ahead
• Rice can be cooked 2 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Rice mixture (without hazelnuts and cress) can be made 3 hours ahead; store airtight at room temperature.

WILD RICE STUFFING WITH GRAPES AND HAZELNUTS

Steps:

• In heavy saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add wild rice and stir. Cover pan, and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for one hour, until rice is tender and has "popped" open. Meanwhile, cook bacon in fry pan over medium until almost crisp, about 8-10 minutes. Add butter to bacon pan, add onions, celery, mushrooms, garlic, thyme and salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until onions are translucent. Remove from heat and fold in parsley, hazelnuts and grapes. Add rice with any remaining liquid in pan, to vegetable mixture and toss well. Stuffing may be used to fill turkey, game hens, chicken or whatever you choose. Stuffing may also be baked separately in a casserole dish covered with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes until hot throughout.

RICE WITH LEEKS AND HAZELNUTS

Steps:

• Prepare 1 cup wild rice blend as the label directs. Cook 1 thinly sliced leek in 2 tablespoons butter with a few thyme sprigs until tender, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the rice with half of the leek mixture, then top with the rest. Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and season with salt and pepper.

WILD RICE AND BERRIES WITH POPPED RICE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large saucepan, bring 5 cups water to a boil over high. Stir in 1 cup wild rice along with the dried berries and maple syrup. Once the mixture comes back to a boil, reduce the heat so the liquid is just simmering, cover and cook until the grains begin to open, 20 to 40 minutes, checking doneness after about 20 minutes. (The rice is done when it has opened slightly, is tender and has quadrupled in size.)
• Drain the excess liquid from the rice. (The cloudy cooking liquid tastes sweet and nutty and can be sipped on its own, reserved for use in the roast turkey with berry-mint sauce and black walnuts, or used as a stock substitute.)
• Meanwhile, toast the hazelnuts: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them until the skin blisters and cracks, and they begin to smell nutty, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a clean dish towel and massage them aggressively to remove most of the skins. Crush the nuts directly in the towel using the flat side of a knife or the bottom of a small, heavy frying pan.
• Add the remaining 1/4 cup rice to a dry medium skillet and cook the rice over high heat, shaking the pan, until it begins to darken and about half of the kernels have popped, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Drizzle the boiled rice with the hazelnut oil and season to taste with salt. Divide among bowls and garnish with the popped rice, hazelnuts and chives.

WILD RICE STUFFING WITH HAZELNUTS AND DRIED CRANBERRIES

Steps:

• Melt 1/2 cup butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Add chicken broth. Bring to boil. Add wild rice. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Mix in brown rice; cover and simmer until rice is just tender and most liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes longer.
• Stir cranberries, parsley and thyme into rice. Cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes longer. Mix in hazelnuts and green onions. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• To bake stuffing in turkey:
• Loosely fill main cavity with stuffing. Butter ceramic baking dish. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake stuffing in dish alongside turkey until heated through, about 30 minutes.
• To bake all of stuffing in baking dish:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 15x10x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Cover dish with buttered foil, buttered side down; bake stuffing until heated through, about 40 minutes.

WILD RICE WITH HAZELNUTS AND CITRUS

Steps:

• Rinse the wild rice, and soak it in water for ½ hour; then drain. Add 4 cups fresh water and the salt, and bring to a boil. Cook, covered, at a simmer until the grains are swollen and tender, but still chewy, about 30 to 35 minutes. Pour the cooked rice into a colander and let it drain briefly. Preheat the oven to 350°F. While the rice is cooking, toast the hazelnuts in the oven 7 to 10 minutes, or until they smell toasty. Let them cool a few minutes; then rub them in a kitchen towel to remove most of the skins. Don't worry about any flecks of skin that won't come off. Roughly chop the hazelnuts, leaving the pieces fairly large. Rinse the currants in warm water and squeeze them dry; then cover them with the orange juice and let them soak until needed. Prepare the vinaigrette. Put the orange peel, orange juice, lemon juice, and vinegar in a bowl with the salt, scallions, and crushed fennel seeds. Whisk in the oils, then the herbs. Taste, and adjust any of the ingredients if necessary. The dressing should be fresh and sparkly Add the soaked currants and the fennel to the warm rice, and toss with the dressing. Just before serving, cut the apple into small pieces, add it to the rice, along with the hazelnuts, and toss. Season with freshly ground black pepper, and additional salt if needed, and serve.