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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, February 28, 2007

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Wild about versatile rice dish

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Columnist

 •  A curious crop

Rice is my carbohydrate downfall. I don't feel that I've eaten if there is no rice on the plate. While steamed white rice is my favorite indulgence, I pretty much have never met a grain of rice I didn't like. Of course, brown rice is preferable from a health perspective, and it's important to keep the serving size in check because, nutritionally, when it comes to white rice, you might as well be eating sugar by the handful.

A short time ago, I was in rice heaven when I attended a luncheon with a local PEO women's group and a member, Bunny Hansen, served a white-and-wild-rice casserole that was just delicious. She was kind enough to send me the recipe, and I can't wait to make it for some special occasion. It's interesting in that it can be served hot, cold or at room temperature — perfect for our potluck style of entertaining. This makes a LOT and it's quite filling.

RICE CASSEROLE

  • 1 cup raw wild rice

  • 2 cups raw white rice

  • 1 onion, chopped

  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped

  • 1 red or orange bell pepper, chopped

  • 2 (4-ounce) cans mushrooms or equivalent fresh mushrooms

  • 2 strips bacon

  • 2 cups cubed ham

  • 2 cans cream of mushroom soup

  • 1 1/2 (13.5 ounce) cans milk

  • Salt and pepper

    Cook wild rice according to package directions. Steam white rice as usual.

    In a saute pan, fry bacon until crisp; remove and drain on paper towels; chop and crumble bacon. In the same saute pan, drain off most of the fat, leaving just enough to saute the onion, peppers and mushrooms until onions are limp and translucent.

    In a large bowl, mix cooked rices with vegetables, bacon and ham. Stir in 2 cans mushroom soup and 1 1/2 cans milk. Season as desired with freshly ground pepper. Spread in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish — it will fill it to the brim and mound up a bit — and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

    Makes 12 generous servings.

  • Per serving: 300 calories, 8 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 750 mg sodium, 48 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 4 g sugar, 12 g protein

    The other night, I made a variation of this. In place of wild rice, I used whole-grain sweet rice (mochi rice with the husk on). In place of ham, I used minced Portuguese sausage (sauteed and well-drained of fat). I used fresh mushrooms and added a handful of minced flat-leaf parsley (because I put parsley in everything except cake!). And I had some leftover roast beef I needed to get rid of, so I minced that and added it.

    This shows how versatile this recipe is: You can vary ingredients so long as you stay within the basic framework of 3 cups raw rice, 2 to 3 cups chopped vegetables, 2 cups of cubed meat and the soup and milk.

    Send recipes and queries to Wanda A. Adams, Food Editor, Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Fax: 525-8055. E-mail: wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.

    For more information about our 150th anniversary cookbook, call 535-8189 (message phone; your call will be returned). You can order the cookbook online.