Makes 10 servings
This recipe uses chicken broth, but you can substitute vegetable broth, fruit juice, or even water for a vegetarian or vegan dish to serve as a main course at Thanksgiving dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups wild rice, like Lundberg Wild Blend Rice
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cups cubed butternut squash (from 1 1/2 lb squash)
- 2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cubed
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Combine the rice and water in a large lidded saucepan. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until the rice is tender, about 50 minutes. Remove from heat with lid on and steam 10 minutes. Stir in parsley and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet and sauté onion over medium-high heat until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the butternut squash, apples, and thyme, and sauté until just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth.
- Combine rice and squash mixture, and pour into a buttered 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle walnuts over the top. Bake for until heated through and the squash is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Should we cover the buttered baking dish when putting everything in the oven? I had the devil of a time getting the butternut squash tender. After nearly 45 minutes with the squash still resisting a fork, I put a lid on the baking dish and in about five minutes the wild rice with apples and butternut squash was done–but by that time the rice and apples were overdone.
Hm, I’m surprised to hear your squash wasn’t cooking. We didn’t cover it, because we wanted some of the moisture to cook off, but it seems like that may have worked better for you. If you want to be sure that doesn’t happen next time (I hope there is a next time!), you could par-boil the squash before adding it, or cut it into smaller pieces.