Mushroom Wild Rice -- The Side That Earns Its Place at a Thirty-Year Stew Table

October and the foliage at its peak. The full display: the ridge line solid color, the grove above the farm doing what sugar maples do in October and doing it completely. The tourists are in the valley in their weekend rentals. The farm is behind its hill in its usual relative quiet. You can see the spectacle without being in the spectacle, which is the best position.

I walked the property at dusk on Wednesday, the light going golden and low through the maples. Helen used to walk with me every October. She'd say the same thing every year: how can it be the same every year and still surprise you? I never had a good answer. I still don't. It surprised me again.

Made beef stew this week, the fall stew — the real one, the one I've made for thirty years with its accumulated adjustments. Beef from the Hendersons, cellar carrots and potatoes and parsnips, red wine and thyme and time. I've arrived at something like the definitive version. The parsnips are the recent addition, the thing that took it from very good to fully itself. Parsnips in a braise bring sweetness without softness. They hold their shape and contribute depth. I should have been using them for thirty years.

Ted Marchand came for dinner. We ate the stew at the kitchen table with bread I'd made on Sunday and he ate two portions and we talked for two hours. He's moving well; the hip has healed. He said: I think I'll make it to seventy-five. I said: I think you will too. He said: you're seventy next year. I said: January. He said: we'll have to mark it. I said: we will.

The stew was the main event, and it always will be — but what I served alongside it that evening was this mushroom wild rice, and Ted cleaned his bowl of that too. Wild rice has the same quality as parsnips: it holds its shape, it contributes something real, it doesn’t disappear into the dish. If you’re making the stew, make this alongside it. The two belong together on a cold October table.

Mushroom Wild Rice

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup wild rice, rinsed
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 lb cremini or mixed mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Cook the rice. Combine the rinsed wild rice and broth in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45–55 minutes until the rice is tender and the kernels have begun to split open. Drain any excess liquid and set aside.
2. Sauté the aromatics. While the rice cooks, heat the butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5–6 minutes until softened and translucent.
3. Cook the mushrooms. Add the sliced mushrooms to the skillet in a single layer. Do not stir for the first 2 minutes — let them develop color. Then stir and continue cooking for 6–8 minutes until the mushrooms are deeply browned and any released liquid has evaporated.
4. Add garlic and thyme. Push the mushrooms to the sides of the pan, add the minced garlic to the center, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in the thyme, salt, and pepper and combine everything together.
5. Combine. Add the cooked wild rice to the skillet and stir to incorporate with the mushroom mixture. Cook together for 2 minutes over medium heat so the flavors meld. Taste and adjust seasoning.
6. Finish and serve. Remove from heat, stir in the fresh parsley, and transfer to a serving dish. Serve warm alongside beef stew or as a standalone side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 195 | Protein: 7g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 340mg