Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Wild Rice Almond Cherry Pilaf


I bought ExtraVeganZa a couple of months ago and so far have only made this one recipe. There are lots of interesting recipes in the book including some intriguing pie crust recipes - pumpkin seed rice flour crust, almond oat crust, barley coconut crust, buckwheat hazelnut crust, etc. Okay looking over these crust recipes reminds me that I must make crusts more often and must try out these healthier pie crusts. Anyway, the wild rice almond cherry pilaf was yummy. It could be a meal on its own though I usually ate it with something else as well. It makes a ton so either be ready to eat it for at least a few days or have people to share it with!


Now onto something a little (a lot) more unhealthy. MyRecipes has started their cookie countdown - go here to sign up for the newsletter. I've already found a few I want to make (mind you there aren't many cookies that I wouldn't want to make. So far - lemon coconut snowballs, chocolate chip cookie bars and death by caramel bars.)

Oh and some of you asked what our kitten's name is - her name is Abby. She was sick for a while but now seems to be doing better, and acting like a psychotic little kitten running around. She also chases her tail! Which I've only ever seen dogs do. Mind you she has a very enticing puffy tail.

Other healthy meals:
Lemon Miso Tofu and Eggplant
Artichoke Rotini Pasta
Walnut and Mushroom Nut Loaf
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Wild Rice Almond Cherry Pilaf
Adapted from ExtraVeganZa

My adaptations were to use less oil, more onion and more garlic.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup brown basmati rice
1 cup wild rice
1 tbsp sea salt
2 tsp dried savory
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup dried cherries, finely chopped
4 cups water
3/4 cups almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp tamari

Toast the almonds in a small frying pan for 5-10 minutes on medium heat, until they begin to lightly brown. Remove from heat and allow the nuts to cool. When cool, chop into coarse chunks and set aside.

In a large cooking pot, saute the onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil on medium heat. When the onions become translucent, stir in the basmati and wild rice. Add the salt, savory and sherry and allow the rice to simmer in the sherry for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the cherries and water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and allow the rice to simmer for about 45 minutes.

Check to make sure that all of the water is evaporated. You may need to cook the rice a few minutes longer to ensure that it is thoroughly done. When all of the water has evaporated, remove from heat and allow the rice to cool for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the toasted almonds, parsley and tamari. Transfer the rice to a serving dish and enjoy.

19 comments:

Snooky doodle said...

what a nice flavour combination. I like to experiment in the kitchen. This looks interesting.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Just commented on your photo of this pilaf dish, on Flickr - it looks FANTASTIC!!!

Unknown said...

this sounds/looks awesome!

Anonymous said...

That just sounds amazing. I actually have that book, and never noticed that recipe! Thanks for pointing it out :)

And yay for cookies!

Cakespy said...

Oh mannnn, that looks delicious! We've got to try this one!

kickpleat said...

i love the sounds of this! yum.

Anonymous said...

This looks awesome! Wow!

Gigi said...

looks delicious! i love the flavor combination in this recipe. yum!

Anonymous said...

i love your perfect scoos of rice. mine never stick together like that! the dried cherries sound really tasty in it. adding dried fruits is always a good idea.

and i'm glad your kitten's better! what was wrong with her? i have a kitten, too, although my mom feeds her so much that she looks like a fat cat now. haha

Maria said...

I love the almonds in this one!! It looks delicious!

grace said...

sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy, amazing. :)

Johanna GGG said...

looks delicious - love the flavours! And am interested by the cookie countdown - will check it out

glad your kitten is better

Anonymous said...

i've got to make this! it looks healthy but not toooooo healthy if ya know what i mean. love it!

Anonymous said...

I must admit, I don't often go for savory dishes with any sort of fruit in them, but this does look really good!

Usha said...

Looks really delicious :-)

Lisa Turner said...

I'm certainly going to try this. I eat grains nearly everyday and it's such a delight to dress them up. Very healthy too.

Anonymous said...

This looks lovely! It's a good cupboard clearing recipe, for me at least! Thanks for sharing.

http://testkitchenette.wordpress.com

Nancy

Tracy said...

The pilaf looks yummy!

Jaime said...

lovely combination of flavors in this rice!

btw - my cat chases his tail too (or, to be more precise... more often, the shadow of his tail!)