Wild Rice Dressing with Mushrooms and Kale

Ingredients

Directions

My family is pretty die-hard when it comes to wanting a “bread-y” stuffing - it’s what my mom used to make every year for the holidays. My family and I love the comfort of this stuffing without the heavy-stomach gluten after effects (after all, I want them to help clean up afterward, right!).

Kale is a powerhouse full of nutrition - more calcium than milk plus all the vitamins and minerals in just the right proportion to help ensure bone absorption. It's easy to chiffonade it into strips - simply remove the stems with your hands, roll up the leaves lengthwise into a tight bunch, then chop finely with a chef's knife, yielding thin strips.

1. Soak rice overnight (min. 6 hours). Rinse and drain. (Soaking helps with absorption of minerals.)

2. Put broth and rice in a large dutch oven over the stove and bring to a boil then let simmer, checking for doneness after 40 minutes. All liquid should be evaporated and the rice has a texture you enjoy.* For fluffy rice, put in a large 8” handheld strainer and let steam for at least 10 minutes inside the pot with a cotton oven mitt covering the rice and topped with the lid. (The mitt absorbs the excess moisture, which produces fluffy rice.)

3. While rice is cooking, do the rest of the prep. Chop onions, set aside in bowl. Mince garlic, set aside in separate bowl. Wipe off superficial dirt from mushrooms using a damp cloth or paper towel and then chop into chunks and put into a bowl. Chop up herbs and mix in a small bowl. Remove stems from kale, rinse, dry with towels, and chiffonade into strips (see instructions above). Set aside kale.

4. In a large dutch oven or small heavy-bottomed stock pot, sauté onions in olive oil with a pinch of sea salt for five minutes over medium heat, until soft. Add a couple pinches of herbs and stir for a minute, until aromatic.

5. Turn up heat to medium-high, and when hot, add mushrooms and sauté. Add wine and wait until the liquid has calmed down a bit. Add kale and quickly sauté for 2 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium-low, and once the heat has actually lowered a bit in the pan, add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, until aromatic, making sure not to burn. Turn off heat and move pot onto another burner.

6. Add rice to sautéed vegetables and mix thoroughly. Add the rest of the herbs and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, a squeeze or two of lemon and possibly a drizzle of olive oil if it needs moisture or rich body. Serve.

*If you taste the rice and it is done to your liking but there is still more liquid left then steam as instructed. If you don't have a handheld strainer, then substitute with a stainless colander, layering the bottom with cheese cloth to keep rice from going through.