Wild rice for breakfast?! It’s definitely a thing, I assure you – a delicious, hearty, highly nutritious thing you should try.
I don’t remember eating a lot of wild rice growing up. Occasionally it would show up as a side dish, or tucked into a casserole along with chicken and condensed soup, adding what was probably an offensive amount of texture to my childhood palate (I was actually a pretty picky kid!).
Since moving to the Pacific Northwest, Omar and I have been in the habit of picking up a bag once the weather turns and using it in a more grown-up version of chicken-mushroom soup casserole – we’re still working on it, but know that there are dried shiitakes and heavy cream involved. One year at Christmas, we were describing our casserole quest and my dad lit up. Despite living together for 18 years, I somehow never knew this, and that his favorite way to eat it is for breakfast with milk, sugar, and cinnamon!
Apparently, he developed a taste for the sweet wild rice as a kid visiting his paternal grandparents in the woods of Crandon, Wisconsin, where my great-grandmother would prepare it for his breakfast. Wild rice is one of few grains native to North America, and despite the name, is neither rice (it’s a grass) nor wild (most of what we buy is cultivated). It’s a highly nutritious staple of the traditional diet of indigenous peoples of the Midwest, far superior to oatmeal in protein, fiber, and vitamin content. Breakfast of champions indeed!
Grandpa Rowlinson (Dad’s dad!), Crandon, Wisconsin
1937(?)
Dad keeps his breakfast wild rice simple, heating leftover wild rice with milk, adding sugar, butter, and cinnamon to taste – if you follow his recipe, make sure not to use wild rice that has been cooked in a savory liquid like meat or veggie stock. Of course, I couldn’t resist experimenting, and found it’s extra delicious when cooked with warming spices and garnished with vibrant, custardy persimmons.
While wild rice is available at most grocery stores in the US, you can support Tribal enterprises by purchasing directly from the Red Lake Nation in Minnesota.
https://redlakenationfoods.com/
Breakfast wild rice with persimmons and pistachios
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice, well-rinsed
- 4 cups water
- 1-2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- pinch salt
- 2-3 ripe persimmons, chopped
- 4 tbsp pistachios
- 2 cups milk or milk alternative, warmed
- honey or brown sugar to taste
Directions
- Bring water to boil in a medium pot with pinch salt. Add rice, star anise, and cinnamon stick, return to boil, and cook for 45-50 minutes. Wild rice is cooked when tender and “split” – you will be able to see the white inner part of the grain. Drain excess water, fluff with fork. Remove spices.
- Add to bowl and top with persimmons, pistachios, and ~1/2 cup milk, adding more if desired. Sweeten with honey or brown sugar to taste.
I usually cook my wild rice in our small rice cooker – if you’d like to do the same, follow manufacturer’s directions for brown rice, adding spices to the pot before pressing start.
This looks so simple & delicious Emily – so do the rest! Keep the blog going!