Wild Rice and Berries With Popped Rice

Name: Wild Rice and Berries With Popped Rice
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups long-grain wild rice (about 8 ounces), rinsed (see Note); 1/2 cup mixed dried berries (any combination of cranberries, blueberries or sour cherries); 3 tablespoons maple syrup; 1/4 cup whole hazelnuts, crushed; 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil; Fine sea salt; Whole chive stems (or scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal), for garnish

By Sean Sherman

Total Time: About 1 hour
Rating: 4(121)
Notes: Read community notes

As delicious simmered until tender as it is popped until puffy and crisp, real hand-harvested wild rice, available from a few vendors online, is unlike any commercial paddy rice. Nutty and woodsy, it cooks in half the time of commercial wild rice and tastes of the piney forests and clear northern lakes. In the Anishinaabe language, wild rice is “manoomin,” or “good berry,” and is served at many ceremonies in the Great Lakes region, from holiday celebrations to weddings and funerals. I often garnish this dish with fresh or dried ramp leaves, depending on the time of year, but chive stems or sliced scallions are a simple substitute. Top with roasted turnips and winter squash or serve with sautéed vegetables, roast meat or pan-seared fish.

Featured in: Sean Sherman’s 10 Essential Native American Recipes

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1¼cups long-grain wild rice (about 8 ounces), rinsed (see Note)
½cup mixed dried berries (any combination of cranberries, blueberries or sour cherries)
3tablespoons maple syrup
¼cup whole hazelnuts, crushed
2tablespoons hazelnut oil
Fine sea salt
Whole chive stems (or scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal), for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2
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.)
Step 3
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.)
Step 4
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.
Step 5
Add the remaining ¼ 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.
Step 6
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.

Tip

Hand-harvested wild rice that has been gathered by tribal members according to traditional methods is available for order online from Native Harvest.

Ratings

4 out of 5

121 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

AmyClark2064 years ago

It’s a bit more labor intensive than I’m used to for wild rice, but worth every step. I used half dried cranberries/cherries and added some flat leaf parsley in lieu of chives. It’s sweet, savory, nutty, crunchy and so delicious. My husband said it was the best wild rice he’s ever eaten, I agree. I will absolutely make this again and add to my thanksgiving menu.

CJ4 years ago

This seems similar to some Persian rice dishes, which often use dried barberries. I tried it with salmon, simply steamed in a bag with herbs and lemon. The last of my slender French beans from the garden were nice with it.

thb4 years ago

Made for Thanksgiving and have been dreaming of it since. Will definitely order more rice—a bit pricey, but well worth it, and great to support the growers. Amazing!

Matt4 years ago

I made this is dish for a special event and it was so great! The hazelnut oil gave it depth, and the chives added a savory dimension. I had issue popping the wild rice. But I really loved it! I want to see more Sam Sherman recipes, and especially recipes from first nations in the Midwest!

Patricia2 years ago

I made this tonight, serving it with the salmon recipe featured with it. I used the recommended rice; it was earthy, sweet, and delicious. I usually use wild rice from a small company in Canada, also wild harvested, and was excited to try the featured rice. There is a very BIG flavor and textural difference in wild rice such as these and that which is commercially available in the markets. This recipe will be a staple for me and next time I will try it with fresh berries. Yum!

Needs Salt9 months ago

A bit of salt sprinkled on top of a serving gave a better flavor balance. Other than that, loved the dish! Yes, ordered from Native Harvest. It's a different strain of wild rice instead of the normally sold commercial kind, and the flavor is fantastic.

caro9 months ago

Can someone please comment if this can be made night before and should it be reheated or left out to come to room temp?

Michael Merc9 months ago

Do you think this can be made a day or so in advance?

Patricia1 year ago

I’ve never really liked wild rice up to now. The hand harvested wild rice was a total revelation—delicate and sweet, it’s completely unlike the farmed variety. It almost doesn’t need the maple syrup. Delicious. Amazing. Worth seeking out at least once in your life, and preserving for the future.

Absolutely Delicious1 year ago

I love Minnesota wild rice--grew up on it--and this is my new favorite way to prepare it. The puffed rice on top was a particularly delightful texture contrast. I found myself without hazelnuts and used pecans instead, and also skipped the oil on top, but it was still delicious. You definitely need the type of rice from the linked retailer for this recipe--don't use a blend or the cultivated kind.

Judy1 year ago

Can this be made in advance? If so, should it be reheated or served at room temp?

meredith2 years ago

Buy wild rice from nativeharvest.com and support Native American land reclamation! They harvest it in traditional manner. Authentic and restorative = two for the price of one! I just bought some and happy to connect to this traditional American food…

Grace2 years ago

We ordered the real wild rice from Amazon and it was well worth it. This was easy to make but delicious, the flavor and texture so complex. Already making it a second time !

Patricia2 years ago

sarah blair3 years ago

Yum! Confess to making it with a mix of store bought lundberg’s wild rice and some long grain black rice and subbing walnut oil for hazelnut oil. Hazelnuts were chopped than crushed. Toasting and popping the rice took at least ten minutes. But wow was it all worth it. Definitely not waiting til next Thanksgiving to make this again!!

SS3 years ago

I rather liked this recipe. It was different and interesting. I used walnuts instead of hazelnuts and macadamia nut oil instead of hazelnut oil. I paired the rice with some fried tilapia and I think they worked quite well together.

Diane D4 years ago

Giving this a bad review. Granted, I used store-bought wild rice and didn't order from the recommended vendor. But, I figured, how off could it be? Very off. The real "fail" was the popping of the rice. I followed the intructions to the T. I turned off the heat when 1/2 the kernels were popped. The problem was the other half were rock hard. I nearly damaged my dental work eating this. I don't know if it comes out "just right" with the Native Harvest rice.

Jann2 years ago

It does.

Matt4 years ago

Amy4 years ago

This was a fantastic recipe. Popping the rice led to a dish unlike any other wild rice dish we've had. A great addition to festive meals, and, for us, an introduction to Native cuisine! Note: We didn't have any berries other than cranberries, and we forgot the chives, and it turned out fine.

thb4 years ago

Made for Thanksgiving and have been dreaming of it since. Will definitely order more rice—a bit pricey, but well worth it, and great to support the growers. Amazing!

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