Is it better to soak wild rice before cooking?

While rinsing the wild rice before cooking is always a good idea, soaking it is not required . Soaking the wild rice for 15 minutes can cut the cooking time in half, but it will also result in a softer, less textured end product.

What is in casserole dish?

In the United States, a casserole or hot dish is typically a baked food with three main components: pieces of meat (such as chicken or ground meat) or fish (such as tuna) or other protein (such as beans or tofu), various chopped or canned vegetables (such as green beans or peas), and a starchy binder (such as flour, ...

What happens if you don't rinse wild rice before cooking?

Pour a cup of wild rice into a mesh sieve and give it a good rinse. This will rid the rice of any starch that's lingering on the outside of the grain . This extra starch can make your rice—be it wild or any other kind—gummy once it cooks.

What happens if you don't wash wild rice?

Here's Why. The chief reason to rinse is to remove surface starch from rice grains, which can make them gummy as they cook. Soaking allows rice to absorb water, giving it a leg up on cooking. This helps it to have a better, more even texture, instead of drying out while the inside is not evenly steamed and fluffed.

What is the oldest known casserole?

Macaroni and cheese is the oldest written casserole recipe found in 1250.

Should you cover casserole when baking?

The primary reason for covering a casserole as it bakes is to trap moisture inside the dish . This will not only keep the casserole itself moist, but it will also help get the casserole up to cooking temperature.

Why put foil on casserole dish?

It protects your food from drying out or burning and helps keep in the heat and moisture, ensuring a perfectly cooked meal . Loosely covering your dish with foil can prevent uneven browning while baking. However, tightly sealing your bakeware with foil is the way to go for more steam.

What is the best way to cook wild rice?

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the rice, reduce the heat to a gentle boil, and cook until the rice is tender but still has a slight bite, typically 35 to 55 minutes .

Does wild rice soak up all the water?

Most of the water should be absorbed and wild rice should be fully cooked and tender.

Why is wild rice hard to cook?

That being said, wild rice looks and cooks like rice. Similar to cooking brown rice, it takes longer to simmer on the stovetop because it's a whole grain . You need to simmer until the hull splits and gets tender, which usually takes about an hour.

Does soaking rice change cooking time?

You might have also heard about soaking rice before cooking it. For starters, washing and soaking have different purposes, so they aren't interchangeable steps. Whereas washing removes debris and excess starch, soaking reduces the overall cooking time , says Sharma.

Mushroom Kale Wild Rice Casserole Recipe (2024)

17 January, 2014 By Mary | 32 Comments

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I've been feeling a bit out of touch with the world, lately. It's very unlike me to not keep up with the news, but lately when Derek asks me to brief him on world happenings (as is our usual way of BOTH being up on the news), I have nothing to report! Clearly the world is not devoid of news... I've just been skimming past news articles without absorbing information lately.

Yesterday, I decided that it needs to change! After reading the Economist thoroughly through college, and the New York Times up until last year, I'm jumping back into the "I read the newspaper" world. I went back to the New York Times, and signed up yesterday! Woohoo! I plan to be much more informed from here on out — as I like it, and is probably the responsible thing for me to do. I'm still partially struggling with the time aspect: I know I could spend all day pouring through the nytimes website, reading article after blog after editorial, but there is this thing called LIFE. and WORK. I think that's the reason, perhaps, I cancelled my subscription last year to begin with. Here's to managing our time responsibly, right? Right!

This casserole made me feel really responsible, too. Weird segue? Roll with it. Maybe it's just the word "casserole" that throws me off — it seems like something from the 1960's that maybe has little to no flavor. Or definitely a can of cream of mushroom soup. I'm pretty much wholeheartedly against cream of ANYTHING soup, especially from a can. All this to say, I was really skeptical of thing casserole... was it even going to taste good??

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it tasted AMAZING. No joke, I was blown away by the flavor here. With the caramelized onions and mushrooms, then the flavors from the stock, mixed with all these other goodies (gruyere and crushed red pepper!), it was impossible to stop eating. I even got Derek to eat it, more than once, and he REALLY doesn't like mushrooms (or so he claims). WIN. Next up: coconut. {ha! like that will every happen.}

Mushroom Kale Wild Rice Casserole

★★★★★5 from 1 reviews

Author: adapted from Half Baked Harvest
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 8 1x

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Ingredients

UnitsScale

4 Tbsp butter
2 large sweet onions, sliced into thin rings
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh oregano, minced
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 large bunches of Kale, leaves torn and stems removed
¼ cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup vegetable broth
¼ cup heavy cream
4 cups cooked wild rice
2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 F and butter a large casserole dish (I used a 9x13 baking dish) and set aside.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoon butter, then add the onions. Stir to coat the onions with butter. Continue to cook the onions while you do everything else in the recipe, turning down the heat if needed to keep the onions from burning and drying out. Stir every 5 minutes or so.
In another large pot, the biggest you have, melt the remaining 2 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, spreading to cover the entire bottom of the pot, and do not stir for about 3 minutes. Stir to get a new layer of mushrooms on the bottom, and cook for another 3 minutes without stirring.
Add the olive oil if the mushrooms have become dry, along with the garlic, oregano, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to combine, and cook for 30 seconds before adding the torn kale leaves.
Cook the kale leaves with the mushrooms until the kale is fully wilted. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, stir to fully incorporate, and then add the milk and vegetable broth.
Cook, while stirring, until the mixture thickens — about 3 minutes after boiling. Add the cream, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
Stir the wild rice in with the mushroom mixture, along with 1 cup of the grated cheese. At this point your onions should be caramelized and golden — cook them until they are, and then add to the mushroom mixture.
Pour the mixture into your prepared pan, and top with the remaining cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and the casserole is bubbling. Serve hot!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Eileen says
January 17, 2014 at 1:03 pm
I could definitely get behind a big pile of vegetables and rice with comforting melted cheese right about now. And then: a lovely nap. Yay!
Reply
Gretchen says
January 17, 2014 at 3:43 pm
See Also
pinwheel sandwich recipe | pin wheel sandwich |Matcha Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe - Chenée Today Juicy Lucy Burger Recipe (Twin Cities stuffed cheese burger)Lou Malnati's Salad Dressing Recipe as Published in the 60's
This does sound yummy! Good for a cold winter night.
Reply
Rachelle says
March 24, 2014 at 8:48 am
How much is two bunches of kale?
Reply
- Mary says
  March 24, 2014 at 5:31 pm
  About 8 cups (not packed) of leaves.
  Reply
Anna says
September 12, 2014 at 9:41 am
Hi,
This recipe sounds wonderful, BUT could mozzarella cheese be substituted for the Gruyere and could the heavy cream be omitted or a substitute used - like evaporated milk? Not a fan of these two ingredients.
Thanks.
Reply
- Mary says
  September 12, 2014 at 10:45 pm
  I think the cheese sub would be fine — very different, as they're totally different kinds of cheese, but fine. As for the milk ... I'm not sure!! You could use a less fatty milk, but I don't know about evaporated milk. Let me know how it goes!!
  Reply
Hannah says
October 05, 2014 at 6:32 pm
Just made this for dinner and it was amazing!! I cut the recipe in half since there's only me to feed, pretty much just guessed on the measuring, and substituted gruyere for some shredded italian cheese blend I already had in the fridge and it still turned out wonderful!! Grab some crusty bread to go with this and you can't go wrong.
Reply
- Mary says
  October 05, 2014 at 9:05 pm
  Yay! So glad you liked it, Hannah! Thanks for the comment 🙂
  Reply
Wendy says
October 07, 2014 at 10:55 am
I made this for dinner last night and it turned perfect! Love the flavors. I have enough for a few other meals so can't be that too!
Reply
- Mary says
  October 07, 2014 at 10:33 pm
  Yay! So glad you liked it, Wendy! Thanks for the comment!
  Reply
Kaylee says
See Also
Cream Cheese Wontons Recipe
October 24, 2014 at 8:16 pm
Do I HAVE to use flour? I want to make this but it needs to be gluten free.
Reply
- Mary says
  October 25, 2014 at 2:59 am
  Hi Kaylee! You certainly don't HAVE to, but it will be a soupy mess if you don't. I've had success using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free AP Flour when making a roux for a thickening agent — but I don't have enough experience to say if the method in this recipe would work for it. It might! If you had to, you could make a traditional roux (with the GF flour) and add in the veggies after you've successfully made the roux. Let me know if you end up making it, and how it goes!
  Reply
  - Sue says
    October 30, 2014 at 3:07 pm
    Can I make this a day ahead and reheat it for my guests?
    Reply
    - Mary says
      November 01, 2014 at 2:12 am
      I can't say I've tried this, Sue, but I think if you perhaps assembled it — DIDN'T bake it — then stuck it in the fridge and did the baking before your guests got there, it would be fine! Let me know how it goes!
      Reply
  - Rebecca Watson says
    November 26, 2015 at 6:22 am
    I made with this with a GF flour mix and it was great. No problems at all 🙂 I also used rice milk and oatmeal cream, with some rice cheese. Vegan and gf and STILL delicious! Thanks for the recipe. Using it in my Thanksgiving as the main for our vegan friends.
    Reply
    - Mary says
      November 26, 2015 at 4:53 pm
      Awesome! Thanks for the tips, Rebecca! Xo (happy thanksgiving!)
      Reply
Sarah says
December 30, 2014 at 4:00 pm
This is in the oven now, and we can't wait! I'm baking a dish of garlic-lemon chicken along side of it for the meat-loving family members. I anticipate leftovers, if there are any, will be amazing. Thanks for the recipe.
Reply
- Mary says
  December 30, 2014 at 6:30 pm
  Yay! I hope you loved it, Sarah! Thanks for the comment!
  Reply
Corryn Bradley says
April 09, 2015 at 7:06 pm
I LOVED this recipe! It was perfect for a random snowy day in April. Instead of cream and milk, I substituted with butternut squash soup and used almond milk and a gluten free flour and it ended up being super creamy and the butternut squash complemented it nicely!
Reply
- Mary says
  April 10, 2015 at 9:48 am
  That sounds AMAZING! Thanks for sharing, Corryn!
  Reply
Emily says
June 15, 2015 at 9:01 pm
I made this tonight! So good! I made a few substitutions to cut some of the calories. I used good olive oil instead of butter, skim milk, Greek yogurt instead of cream, and fat free chicken broth instead of vegetable (just because it's what I had in the pantry). I also put it in mini loaf pans (I live by myself so single servings are better than a big casserole dish). Since I did the single servings, I cut the cooking time down. It made 8 mini loaf pans and I plan on keeping most of them in the freezer (and taking some to my parents). I'll definitely be making this again!! Thanks for sharing!!
Reply
- Mary says
  June 15, 2015 at 9:58 pm
  Thanks for the details, Emily!! Sounds like such a great way to make this! Xo
  Reply
michelle says
November 13, 2015 at 2:10 pm
Pinning this one, delicious!
Reply
Tarra Davis says
December 07, 2015 at 7:02 pm
I've been trying to institute Meatless Mondays at the homestead and my cousin found this recipe for me, since I didn't want to make eggplant lasagna AGAIN (it's delicious, but I've seen it too much).
Hubby and I enjoyed this dish and I paired it with good crusty bread...the teen did her best to make her way through it, but she doesn't like mushrooms, so she didn't enjoy it 🙁
I'm thinking the two healthy bunches of kale I used may have been too much kale. If I make it again, I'll use maybe one bunch and I'll chop it into smaller pieces instead of tearing it. I think I'd like more salt, pepper and red pepper flakes as well. The sauce was tasty. I feel like I want to sprinkle walnuts or pine nuts - something crunchy on it to add some texture?
Anyhow - thanks for the recipe. I'll definitely try it again with some revisions/additions.
Reply
Gayle Mossop says
May 26, 2018 at 1:38 pm
I want to take this to Church for Fellowship. Do I make it, refrigerate it and warm it the next day? Or do I make up to getting it into the 9X3 pan, then refrigerate and bake at Church?
Reply
- Mary says
  June 03, 2018 at 6:10 pm
  Hi Gayle! I would bake, refrigerate, and then re-heat. Enjoy! xo
  Reply
Becky Huertas says
May 04, 2020 at 10:52 am
I prepared this glorious casserole and delivered it to a family on our street: new immigrants coping with a new language, infant twins, and Stay at Home orders. They called an hour later, and said it was the best food they had eaten since arriving in the US 9 months before!! They also said they would sleep well for the first time in several days with full tummies!!
★★★★★
Reply
- Mary says
  May 22, 2020 at 5:06 pm
  Oh this warms my heart, Becky!! Thanks for sharing (and being such a kind neighbor!). xo
  Reply

Mushroom Kale Wild Rice Casserole Recipe (2024)

Mushroom Kale Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients

Instructions

Reader Interactions

Comments

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Is it better to soak wild rice before cooking? ›

Does soaking rice change cooking time? ›