Wild Rice w/ Sweet Potatoes, Yellow Onions & Lime

I've been thinking about making rice and beans lately. Ordinarily I make this kind of recipe during the summer with freshly picked peppers and tomatoes from the garden. However, it's barely spring and there is absolutely still snow on the horizon because Wisconsin is in the midst of second winter. "Second winter" is when the weather starts to get nice and we all think that it's finally spring! But alas, the temperature drops 30 degrees overnight and it starts snowing again. Hence, the second round of winter and the inability to start produce outside. Nevertheless, I'm feeling in the fresh produce mood and want rice and beans. Not to be outdone, I'm simply adding sweet potatoes to my wild rice and mixing in a little bit of my wintry favorites to Latin American-inspired dish.

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Variations of Wild Rice w/ Sweet Potatoes

When I make rice in the winter, I tend to like to add in tamari and rice wine. This is more of an Asian-inspired take on the dish with an abundance of flavor. Rice can be kind of boring and bland. However, there is nothing boring or bland about the kind of food that I like to eat! So, I tend to use brown rice and then play up the flavor with additional produce, citrus, and/or vinegar and other strong ingredients. Wild rice already has an incredibly distinct flavor, though. Which means that the add-ins have to be a little bit more subdued. Although sweet potatoes, squash, and other slightly sweet ingredients tend to be a safe bet for any dish.

Brown Rice w/ Broccoli, Bell Peppers, & Rice Wine

Brown Rice w/ Squash, Bell Peppers, & Habaneros

Squash, Bell Pepper, & Habanero Brown Rice

Brown Rice w/ Ambercup Squash & Red Chilis

Wild Rice w/ Sweet Potatoes, Yellow Onions, & Limes

This Wild Rice recipe consists of sweet potatoes, garlic, yellow onions, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, coriander, and chili powder.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Resting Time 10

Total Time 1 10

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Latin American, Mexican

Servings 4 cups

Equipment

Rice Cooker

Ingredients

1 sweet potato diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 yellow onion diced
1 lime juiced
2 tsp. olive oil
dash salt
dash pepper
dash cumin
dash coriander
dash chili powder
1 ½ c. wild rice
4 c. water

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger vegetables and then add the smaller ingredients. Top with the bay leaves, spices, lime juice, and olive oil. And then add the rice and water.
This cooks the larger vegetables on the bottom, while dispersing the flavor profiles in the middle. Although with some mixing, this really doesn't matter all that much. Everything will eventually cook together!
Press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook.
Alternatively you can simmer on the stove. Add all of the ingredients to a pot, bring uncovered to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook covered for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet squash and rice are tender. Turn off heat, add lid, and let sit another 5-10 minutes.
When the rice is fully cooked, let sit for 10 minutes, and then fluff with a wooden spoon and serve.
Do not use a fork or other metal utensil. It will scratch off the nonstick surface on the rice cooker. This will leach teflon into your food and cause future dishes to stick to the bottom!

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

For tips and tricks on The Fundamentals of Cooking Rice, particularly brown rice, check out my article on the matter. Rice is surprisingly more difficult to cook in a rice cooker than the name would suggest and there are a multitude of simple solutions for common problems, like overcooking and becoming mushy or drying out. There are also some solutions for remedying these issues after the fact, instead of starting over!