Shel's Baked Wild and Brown Rice

[Shel_B]

The origin of this recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated, but the recipe has developed over time enough that it can be considered a different recipe.

 

Shel’s Baked Wild and Brown Rice
 
Ingredients

 

1 cup Massa Organics brown rice, rinsed and drained a couple of times
½ cup domestic, cultivated wild rice (Trader Joe's brand is just fine for this)
2⅓ cups liquid (50/50 stock/water combination)
1 tsp unsalted butter or equivalent oil or ghee

2 lightly crushed garlic cloves
½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (optional)
Fresh ground black pepper
 
Directions

 

Adjust oven rack to middle-high position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread drained brown rice in 8‑inch‑square glass baking dish. like Corningware.
 
Cook ½-cup wild rice and garlic cloves in about 1½-cups water for about 15-minutes, no more.  Drain, reserving liquid.  Remove the garlic cloves and add the drained wild rice to the brown rice. 
 
Bring reserved rice cooking liquid and enough stock or water to make 2⅓ cups, plus the butter or oil and salt to a boil, covered, and then pour liquid over rice. Stir to incorporate.  Cover baking dish tightly with doubled layer of foil (the lid from the 8-inch Corningware casserole is fine). Bake rice 1 hour, until tender.
 
Remove baking dish from oven and uncover. Grind some pepper onto the rice, then fluff rice with a fork, cover dish with clean kitchen towel and let rice stand 5 minutes. Uncover, fluff and adjust seasoning, and let rice stand 5 minutes longer. Serve immediately.
 
Notes: This recipe works well when using an 8-inch Corningware or Pyrex dish with lid.  If you don't have a lid, cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. I prefer the Massa Organics brown rice http://massaorganics.com/ for this dish, but have made the dish with other brown rice as well, all with acceptable results.  Massa's rice can be purchased at the Berkeley Farmers Markets or on line.   I use Trader Joe's wild rice as it's cost effective, readily available, and tastes as good as the other cultivated wild rice I've tried. The amount and brand of salt works well for my taste and the boxed chicken stock I use, which is Costco's organic chicken stock mixed about 50/50 with water.  If you use another brand you may have to adjust the amount of salt.
 
More than 2 tsp butter or oil makes the cooked rice a little greasy to my taste.  I prefer a little less than 1 tsp unsalted butter.

Edited September 14, 2016 by Shel_B (log)