Delicious option for a poultry stuffing or a ring of white and wild rice.
This recipe features two traditional techniques for making rice a safe and digestible food. Soaking rice has many benefits, including creating a soft, risotto-like texture. On the health side, soaking improves digestibility by neutralizing phytic acid. The addition of bentonite clay can lower the amount of bioavailable arsenic that rice naturally tends to accumulate. White rice is a treat that can help your muscles replace glycogen after a workout. Preparing rice with fat (or vinegar) ensures that your blood sugar doesn’t spike after eating this starch.
Wild Rice Pilaf for the Holidays
Ingredients
1 ¼ C (300ml) white rice (low-ox varieties include jasmine and basmati) (13mg ox)
2 T (30ml) bentonite clay (optional)
Filtered water for soaking
3 T (45ml) wild rice (3.5 mg ox)
6 oz (170g) celery root, peeled and finely diced
8 oz (225g) cremini mushrooms, cleaned, halved and sliced paper thin (6mg ox)
4-6 T (60-90ml) butter
1 tsp (5ml) ground rosemary (or more) (3mg ox)
Salt and white pepper to taste
2 T (30ml) chives (or scallions), minced (0.4mg ox)
3 oz (55-85g) chooked chestnuts, diced (13 mg ox)
2 ¼ C (0.54L) water for cooking (can use some bone broth if desired)
Instructions
- Place white rice in a medium-sized glass bowl. Add chlorine-free filtered water and bentonite clay (if using). Soak at room temperature for 8–24 hours. Soak the wild rice in a separate bowl.
- Drain the two types of rice and cook them in separate saucepans.
- Cook the wild rice in 1.5 cups water for 35–45 minutes or until tender. Drain if needed.
- Bring the white rice to a light simmer on medium heat in 2 ¼ C water. Reduce heat to very low, cover tightly, and cook for ~30 minutes.
- In a large frying pan, sauté the sliced cremini mushrooms in two batches (4–5 ounces each). Cook on medium heat until soft and starting to caramelize. Set them aside. (optional: Cook additional sliced mushrooms in butter to serve with meat or to garnish the rice ring.)
- Sauté the diced celery root in 2-3 T butter until soft and browned (20 minutes or more), adding rosemary, salt, and white pepper as it cooks.
- Mix rice, mushrooms, and celery root together. Stir in chestnuts and chives.
- Press the rice mixture into a 5-6 cup ring mold or baking dish. Or you could use it to stuff a turkey.
Hello – Can Ghee or Olive Oil be used instead of butter in these recipes? I am trying to stay away from dairy. For yogurt, will coconut yogurt work? I am using Harmless Harvest brand. Thank you.
Yes, ghee or olive oil are totally acceptable. Coconut oil too. Coconut yogurt should work fine – you may need to experiment with liquid balance to get a good texture.
Where does one get bentonite clay? I see some on Amazon such as calcium bentonite clay and sodium bentonite clay etc. Where do I get the correct one and is it just bentonite clay or are there any other ingredients?
Any version of food-grade (not cosmetic) bentonite clay will be fine, either as a powder (usually “calcium bentonite”) or as liquid suspension (e.g. the Great Plains brand). It’s usually available at health food stores or from Amazon or other online sources.
Says to drain the rice(s) and has how much water to add for the wild rice, but not the amount of water for the white rice.
Thanks for pointing that out. The white rice gets cooked in the 2 1/4 C of water listed in the ingredients. I updated the instructions to make it clearer.