Recipe: Wild Rice Stuffing with Pine Nuts and Pearl Onions

Wild Rice Stuffing
rec.food.cooking/Ranee Mueller (2001)

I usually stuff both turkey cavities, one with the bread and the other with the rice, then bake the rest. My BIL used the leftover rice stuffing with some hot hot chile sauce, veggies and leftover meat in a kind of stir fry thing the next day.

My husband has never liked bread stuffing, although he did his best to eat my mother's before we were married. I created this so he would have a tasty stuffing that he would enjoy. This recipe goes especially well with duck or goose, and is wonderful in a Thanksgiving turkey.

6 Tbsp butter
18 oz pearl onions, blanched in boiling water 1 minute, peeled (I've also used about a lb of regular onions, chopped up)
6 cloves garlic, slivered
1 1/2 cups pine nuts

4 1/2 cups chicken stock
3 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 3 tsp dried
1 1/2 cups wild rice
1 1/2 cups basmati rice (or another long grain rice)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until they start to turn transparent, add garlic and saute some more. When garlic starts to turn an opaque yellow, add pine nuts and toast until they start to brown, about 15 minutes total. Turn off heat and stir until pine nuts are toasted. Set aside.

Bring stock and 1 Tbsp thyme (if fresh, all if dried) to boil in large saucepan. Add wild rice; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add basmati rice and salt; cover and simmer until all rice is tender and liquid is completely absorbed, about 15 minutes longer.

Stir onion-pine nut mixture, remaining fresh thyme and pepper into rice mixture.

To bake stuffing in bird:
Loosely fill main cavity with stuffing. Butter glass baking dish. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake stuffing in dish alongside bird until heated through, about 20 minutes.