I make this Thanksgiving themed rice dish as often as I think Jon will put up with it, throughout Autumn and Winter. I think it might have been the first dish that I ever cooked for his parents, when they came to visit us in our first flat together – it’s that reliably tasty, hassle free and beautifully festive.
As part of a Thanksgiving table, I’d factor in people who aren’t vegetarian wanting some too.
Thanksgiving Rice (serves 6)
6 cups of wild rice white rice mixed together
1 butternut squash
1/2 pumpkin
8 large sweet potatoes
4 large red peppers
4 red onions
2 handfuls of dried cranberries soaked for five minutes in a splash of orange juice
1 handful of toasted pecans
1 cup cranberry sauce
Olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
- Peel and slice the squash, the pumpkin, the sweet potato and the peppers, peel the onion and cut into wedges.
- Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 for about 40 minutes – depending on the thickness of the vegetables – turn them halfway through and keep an eye on them – the peppers may be done before the rest of the vegetables, in which case, fish them out and cover them with foil to keep warm
- Cook the rice according to the packet instructions (you can buy a microwavable wild rice mix which takes all the work out of the project)
- Toss the hot rice with 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and the cranberry sauce
- Stir the vegetables through the rice
- Top with the cranberries and pecans
- Serve hot, or at room temperature