Minnesota Wild Rice Cake Food

WILD RICE GRIDDLE CAKES

Steps:

• In a bowl, mix rice, carrots, onions, cheese, and thyme, add salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle baking powder and flour over mixture, then stir well. Pour in eggs and mix lightly until blended.
• Heat a cast-iron frying pan over a fire or over medium-high heat. Add a thick film of oil. Drop 3 or 4 heaping spoonfuls of batter into pan and flatten slightly, making cakes about 3-inches in diameter. Cook until crispy and well browned on bottom (about 3 minutes), turn cakes with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side (about 2 minutes). Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil as necessary. Serve hot.

WILD RICE CAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 250 degrees.Using a serrated knife, remove crusts from bread. Place trimmed bread on a baking sheet. Transfer to oven, and cook until dry, about 15 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool. In a food processor, chop bread very finely (you need about 1 1/4 cups), and set aside.
• Rinse rice under cold running water until water runs clear. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil over high heat. Stir in wild rice, and lower heat to medium low. Cook rice, stirring often, until water has evaporated and rice has popped, about 55 minutes. Drain rice through a colander. Set aside to cool.
• Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a medium nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic, and stir until fragrant. Add carrot, celery, and yellow pepper, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, combine cooked wild rice, vegetables, and eggs. Gently fold in breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and refrigerate until the breadcrumbs have absorbed the liquids, about 1 hour.
• Using a 2-ounce ice-cream scoop, firmly pack rice mixture into scoop. Place ball of rice mixture on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat (French nonstick baking mat or parchment paper). Gently press down with your damp palm to flatten rice into a cake. Repeat with remaining rice mixture to form eight cakes.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons canola oil in a medium nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Using a wide spatula, carefully transfer four rice cakes into pan. Saute until lightly browned and set on the edges, about 5 minutes. Gently turn rice cakes, and saute for 5 more minutes. Repeat with remaining rice cakes. Serve immediately.

MINNESOTA WILD RICE BREAD

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rice to boiling water and cover. Cook over very low heat until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Cool.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Stir yeast into 1/3 cup warm water and let stand 5 minutes. Stir together milk, butter, honey, salt and oats. Add cooled wild rice to milk mixture.
• Stir together rye flour, whole-wheat flour, bran and 3 1/2 cups of the unbleached flour, using a wooden spoon. Stir in milk and yeast mixture until soft dough forms. Add more of the unbleached flour as needed.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead until soft and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl and turn so that the top is greased. Let rise 2 hours. Punch dough and shape into two loaves. Place in 2 greased 9 1/2 by 5 1/2-inch pans. Let rise again, about 1 hour. Bake for 45 minutes. During last 15 minutes of baking, brush loaves with 1 beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of water and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.