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Hot and Wild Rice

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Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup wild rice
  • 2 cups water or vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 leeks chopped *
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 1 long sliver datil pepper or habanero about 1/6th of the chile — yes it’s that hot or 1 milder pepper, like serrano or jalapeno, minced **
  • 1 red pepper chopped
  • 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup edamame shelled
  • 1 big bunch parsley chopped
  • 1 big bunch cilantro chopped
  • 1/3 cup raw pepitas hulled pumpkin seeds
  • sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Rinse and drain wild rice.
  • In a medium saucepan, bring water or vegetable broth to boil. Add wild rice. Return to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Continue cooking for 35 to 45 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been cooked away and the grains are plump and tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • Over medium-high heat, heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add chopped leeks and celery and minced chile. Saute briefly, until vegetables soften, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add chopped pepper and sliced mushrooms. Continue cooking another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Preheat oven to 375. Pour pepitas into a shallow baking pan. Toast for 8 to 10 minutes, or until crunchy and flavorful.
  • Meanwhile, add wild rice to skillet of sauteed vegetables. Stir gently to combine. Splash in balsamic vinegar and stir in edamame.
  • Season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
  • Just before serving, mix in parsley and cilantro and scatter pepitas on top.

Notes

* Leeks are spring-fresh, fabulous, delicate and sweet — but often gritty when you get them. Rinse well. Slice lengthwise. Chop. Fan out rings, so there’s nowhere for the dirt to hide. Add leeks to a large bowl, shake in a fair amount of table salt and cover with lukewarm water. Give it a swish or two. The salt water seems to coax the dirt out of the leeks. Rinse well one last time, to get rid of both salt and grit. Pat dry and proceed in cooking.
**The tinging heat of chiles is most intense in their seeds and veins. That heat can transfer to your hands when you’re working with them. I don’t care how manly you are, wear latex gloves when you’re handling chiles and wash your hands afterwards. Then enjoy dinner.