I never go out to eat for breakfast. When I wake up, I'm hungry, crabby, and it's best for innocent bystanders if I get some food in my stomach before I venture out into the world. I've never understood people who skip breakfast--if I skipped breakfast, I would probably transform into a rampaging ogre.
The downside of my morning metabolic needs is that I miss out on lots of tasty breakfast food, so I have a fondness for restaurants that serve breakfast all day. One of my favorites is Hell's Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis, where my menu item of choice is the wild-rice based Mahnomin Porridge. It has an incredible texture, crunchy and creamy at the same time. Ever since I found the recipe online, I've been searching for an excuse to make it at home. A Saturday brunch (served at noon, so that I could eat breakfast at my normal time) with my sister was the perfect opportunity.
Since my sister is allergic to hazelnuts, I substituted pecans. The results were quite delicious, but feel free to use hazelnuts if you want to follow the original recipe. Also, I used dried cranberries exclusively since dried blueberries are on the pricey side.
Adapted from the recipe by Mitch Omer of Hell's Kitchen
Makes four servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice
- 1/2 cup pecans or hazelnuts, chopped
- 3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Bring four cups of water to boil in a large saucepan. Stir in rice. Reduce heat and simmer, loosely covered, for 50 minutes. Drain any excess water and return rice to saucepan.
Stir nuts, cranberries, and maple syrup into rice and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add heavy cream and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Ladle into bowls and serve.
