This wild rice side dish lends a Northwood flavor to any freshwater fish and is one of our all-time favorites. The original recipe used the word “stuffing” in it, as it was used to stuff Cornish Game Hens. (I prefer to just use it just as a side dish, and I think it works much better in that way. rk)
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Try this one with salmon, trout, bass, northern… The possibilities are endless. Here, we’ve paired the Wild Rice recipe with Bass Veronique.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked wild rice
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 2 cups chopped Shitake mushrooms (If fresh shitakes are unavailable, dried mushrooms work just as well and are easy to store.)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 6 strips bacon (cooked, drained and chopped)
- 2 Tbsp. dry vermouth
- 1 tsp. marjoram leaves
- 1 tsp. thyme leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Cook the wild rice according to package directions. Melt the butter in a sauté pan, add the mushrooms, garlic, vermouth, and onion and cook over low heat until soft.
Stir in the marjoram and thyme. In a large casserole dish, combine the rice, bacon and mushroom mixture and toss well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To use as a side dish: Cook the rice in a covered casserole dish in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour (the rice wants to have a velvety texture).
Holiday variation: Add 1/3 cup dried cranberries (Craisins) and 1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans for a tasty holiday side dish to serve with turkey or ham!
To use as a stuffing: Use this recipe for Cornish game hens, chicken, salmon or trout and cook on the grill or in the oven as you normally would with any other stuffing.
Simple, but oh, so tasty! rk
