Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Autumn Flavored Wild Rice Pilaf #FoodieExtravaganza

This rice pilaf starts with a blend of Texmati, White, Brown, Red and Wild Rice then adds in the perfect fall flavors of apples and pecans for a wonderful, seasonal side dish that your family is sure to enjoy.

Wild Rice Pilaf

Did you know that it is National Georgia Pecan Month?
When I found out I decided to invite the Foodie Extravaganza gang to join me in sharing Pecan recipes today. Foodie Extravaganza is a fun group that celebrates food holidays each month.  Let's see how we are cooking up Pecans today.........
I love Pecans and use them often in both savory and sweet creations.  Each fall my Mom would by nuts in the shell.  She had a bowl that had a special place to hold the nutcrackers and we would all sit around visiting, cracking nuts and cracking jokes.  My favorites were the pecans, followed by filberts and walnuts.

I wonder what happened to that bowl.  My sister probably has it and if she does I know that it is still getting used each fall.

pecans, apples, and onions

This recipe calls for the rice to be cooked in a combination of broth and apple cider.  The rice blend I used is parcooked and takes only 15 minutes to reconstitute.  I sauteed the onions and garlic in some butter to soften them and then added the rice and liquid.  I added the apples and pecans during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

rice and chicken

I served this rice up with roasted chicken but it would be delicious with pork too.  It is a great side dish for Thanksgiving as well, remeniscent of stuffing.

Rice Pilaf Pin

This was an amazing dinner that I paired with an Italian Barbaresco.  I will be sharing my thoughts on that pairing tomorrow in preparation of our Twitter Chat on Saturday.  I hope you stop by and check it out.  You may learn of a new red choice for wine on Thanksgiving with that Roasted Turkey.  


Side Dishes, Rice,
Potatoes and Rice
American
Yield: 6 servings
Author: Wendy Klik
Autumn Flavored Wild Rice Pilaf

Autumn Flavored Wild Rice Pilaf

This rice pilaf starts with a blend of Texmati, White, Brown, Red and Wild Rice then adds in the perfect fall flavors of apples and pecans for a wonderful, seasonal side dish that your family is sure to enjoy.
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 25 Min

Ingredients

  • 2 T. butter
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 T. Dijon Mustard
  • 1/4 t. dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3/4 c. chicken broth
  • 3/4 c. apple cider
  • 1 c. Royal Blend Rice mixture
  • 1 large apple, cored and diced into bite size pieces
  • 1/2 c. roughly chopped pecans
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over med high heat.  Add the onions and cook for a few minutes until they turn translucent and soften a bit.  Stir in the garlic and cook for about half a minute longer.  
  2. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Stir in the rice and bay leaf.  Add the cider and broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Stir in the apple, cover and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat and stir in the nuts.  Cover and let set for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork and serving. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories

174.95

Fat (grams)

10.74

Sat. Fat (grams)

3.04

Carbs (grams)

19.20

Fiber (grams)

2.24

Net carbs

16.96

Sugar (grams)

7.87

Protein (grams)

2.25

Sodium (milligrams)

265.13

Cholesterol (grams)

10.80

7 comments:

  1. Wild rice pilaf is always so good! We like it with fish also. Pecans add a nice touch. My grandmother in Texas had a pecan tree and would bring them up by the bag full to Missouri and we'd all shell those. Nuts in the shell were always a holiday thing.

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  2. Oooh, I have that Texmati blend!!! I love the addition of the pecans and apples. Plus the mustard! May just try this tonight.

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  3. Love this simple rice pilaf. Liked the idea of using rice blends. The addition of apples and pecans is yum! Bookmarking to try.

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  4. I love this rice blend! This will make a fantastic addition to side dishes.

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