Wild Rice Casserole
A savory and comforting casserole filled with wild and brown rice, mushrooms, gruyere cheese and tarragon. This makes a great vegetarian meal or a nice side to something like roasted chicken.
Yield: 6
Equipment
- a baking dish that's slightly smaller than a 9" x 13" or a 1-3/4 quart oval baking dish
- aluminum foil
Materials
- 1 cup (225 g) cottage cheese
- ½ cup (115 g) sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp dijon or whole grain mustard
- 1 tbsp tarragon leaves, roughly chopped (may substitute thyme instead)
- ½ tsp salt
- a few grinds of black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil or butter
- 8 ounces (225 g) cremini (chestnut) mushrooms, chopped in a large dice
- 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups cooked wild and/or brown rice, room temp (see notes for cooking instructions)
- ½ cup (23 g) gruyere cheese, grated
- chopped chives or scallions, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F(180°C). Brush the baking dish with a little soft butter or olive oil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, sour cream, mustard, eggs, tarragon, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil. Add the chopped mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the chopped onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onions are soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for one minute more. Remove from heat, add the rice and stir to combine. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Add the rice mixture to the egg mixture. Stir well to combine. Pour into the baking dish, top with most of the gruyere cheese (reserve about 3 tablespoons), cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for about 20 minutes more or until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and garnish with chopped chives or scallions, if desired. Serve.
Notes
To cook wild and brown rice on the STOVE (makes about 3 cups): combine 1/2 cup brown rice (200 g) and 1/2 cup wild rice (200 g) in a large pot. Add 12 cups (2.88 L) of water (you want to cook the rices like pasta, so you need a lot of water to keep it free-flowing). Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a good simmer. Cook for 45 minutes. The brown rice should be soft and the wild rice grains will open and curl a bit. Drain for 10 seconds in a colander, add back to pot and place a tight fitting lid on top. Steam for 10 minutes then fluff with a fork.
To cook wild and brown rice in a RICE COOKER (makes about 3 cups): in a rice cooker with a brown rice setting, combine 1/2 cup brown rice and 1/2 cup wild rice (use the cooker's cup measure). Add enough water to fill the pot to 1 cup for brown rice marked on the inside of the pot. Start the cooker. When done, fluff with the rice paddle.
-casserole may be assembled 1-2 days ahead, then baked when needed.
-leftovers keep for 5 days in the refrigerator
-recipe adapted from Supernatural Everyday by Heidi Swanson, published 2011 by Ten Speed Press. Buy the book here.