* 2/3 cup wild rice, rinsed and drained
* 3 1/2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable), divided
* 2 Tbsp olive oil or butter, divided
* 12 to 16 oz ground sausage (your favorite kind)
* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
* 1 lb. pkg fresh mushrooms, sliced
* 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped fine
* salt and black pepper to taste
* toasted almond slivers for garnish
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1. Combine wild rice and 3 cups of stock in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, cover and let rice cook until tender, from 45 to 55 minutes, depending on the rice and your stove. Check to make sure it's not boiling too hard after a few minutes. (Or follow the instructions on your package of wild rice.)
2. Drain the rice through a colander to make sure
it's dry, then put in a large bowl.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. In skillet over medium heat, put the sausage and cook until just browned slightly; then dump into bowl with cooked rice.
5. In same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil or butter over low heat, and add the onions, cooking until they start to turn golden brown in color. This will take a while, as the onions are caramelized, possibly 10 minutes or more.
6. When the onions are golden and soft, add the thyme, stir and cook for 1 minute more, then add this mixture to the bowl with the sausage and rice.
7. In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil or butter, add mushrooms and cook until they soften and get golden brown and the moisture from the mushrooms disappears.
8. Dump the mushrooms into the bowl with the sausage and rice mixture.
9. Then in the bowl, add the parsley, remaining 1/2 cup stock, and season with salt and pepper to taste, mix gently, then turn into a baking dish.
10. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Add toasted almond slivers when served.
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Be sure to toast the slivered almonds before serving. It makes a big difference with the flavor. Just put the almonds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat and shake until fragrant and slightly golden brown. Or, since you're preheating the oven anyway, you can put the almonds on a baking sheet and put them in the oven for a minute, but watch them closely; they burn easily.
You can go ahead and mix the wild rice with brown rice if you like. Just don't use white rice in the wild rice pot because the white rice will cook much quicker than the wild rice. Long grain brown rice is a good match for wild rice.
For a darker, richer taste, use beef stock instead of chicken or vegetable broth to cook the rice in. This recipe is easily tweaked.
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