Cranberry Apple Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf

 

Will Tom Turkey's workout program help? We will wait and see.
Cranberry Apple Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf is a dish simmered in herb-seasoned chicken broth and apple juice with sweet dried cranberries, apples, and roasted pecans is a delicious savory-sweet side. It makes for the perfect serve for the holidays and is easy enough for everyday suppers. Bonus as it's a make-ahead dish all made in one pot. It's the perfect accompaniment to a roast turkey or pork dinner.
Cooking Tips:
You can choose to substitute the pecans with thinly sliced almonds, pistachios, or pepitas. You can substitute the craisins for dried cherries or raisins but I do recommend some sort of dried fruit to add the needed sweetness.
Wild Rice Pilaf reheats exceptionally well. If making in advance, then follow cooking instructions except hold the cranberries and pecans and add them in when you reheat the rice.
Since the recipe involves cooking rice the total preparation from start to finish is one hour and 10 minutes. The recipe is adapted from carlsbadcarvings.com and serves 6. I used a wild rice blend from Lundberg but using all wild rice is another option for this dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry wild rice blend, rinsed and drained 
• 1-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1- 1/2 cups apple juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon each pepper, dried oregano, and dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3/4 cup sweet onion, diced 
• 1 Fuji or Honeycrisp apple, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (to taste)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
  

Directions: 

• Bring broth, apple juice Dijon, 1 tablespoon butter, salt, pepper, dried thyme, oregano, parsley, and bay leaf to a boil in a large nonstick skillet.
• Add rice, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 45-60 minutes, or until rice is tender and almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally and replacing the lid. Add additional water if needed if the rice has absorbed all the liquid and is still not done cooking. Check for doneness at 45 minutes. Once cooked, drain the rice and leave it in a fine-hole strainer.
• To the now empty pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Increase heat to medium-high and add onions and apples; saute for 5-7 minutes, or until onions and apples are tender. Add garlic and saute for 30 more seconds. Cover for 3 minutes. 
• Return rice to skillet along with cranberries and pecans. Add apple cider vinegar a little at a time to taste if desired for more tang. Toss to evenly combine. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Garnish as desired.