Brown Rice with preserved Wild (Boletus and Leccinum) Mushrooms Recipe
Recently I have learned that brown rice is healthier than white rice because it contains all the minerals and vitamins which are being lost during the rice processing. Therefore, from now in all dishes where white rice is used I am trying to substitute it with brown rice although if you like, you may use white (short grain) rice. Here you are, the Brown Rice with preserved Wild (Boletus and Leccinum) Mushrooms recipe:
The 2 servings you will need:
- 100-150 gr of marinated (vinegar-pickled) wild mushrooms (I used marinated King Bolete – Boletus edulis, Bay Bolete – Boletus badius , Iodine Bolete – Boletus impolitus, Dotted Stem Bolete - Boletus erythropus). In principle, any Boletus and/or Leccinum mushroom species can be used for this dish.
- 1 medium-size carrot
- 1 medium-size onion
- 1 big tomato (optional)
- 1 young green onion
- 1-2 twigs of dill
- 1 garlic
- 1-2 table spoons of olive oil
- pinch of salt
- 200 gr of washed brown rice
1. Place 1-2 table spoons of olive oil, onion cut in cubes (5×5 mm) and grated carrot in the pot for frying on high heat. Mix it during 2-3 minutes (or less until the vegetables become soft and onion becomes a bit transparent). Then, add washed preserved mushrooms and grated garlic (optionally you may add 1 big tomato cut in one-bite pieces), mix well and fry for 5 minutes on a high heat.
2. Add washed brown rice to the pot. Mix everything well and add boiled water to cover the rice by 1-1,5cm (about 0.5 inch). Let it be cooked without a lid on high heat until you see the rice surface above the water level (the rice should look watery). It might take about 10 minutes.
3. Then, reduce the heat to minimum, add 50 gr of boiled water, cover the pot with a lid and let it cook for next 10 minutes.
4. While rice is cooking wash the dill and green onion and chop it.
5. Remove the pot from the heat when the rice is not watery anymore and let it stand for 5 minutes.
6. Serve while it’s hot. Put a portion on the place, add on top cut greenery and decorate with some fresh vegetables (cucumber, salad, tomato, pepper, etc.)
Enjoy your meal!
WOW! that looks amazingly delicous! Some information regarding preparation of rice. ALL grains and seeds contain naturally occuring chemicals that prevent them from sprouting at a bad time. Once conditions are right (moisture is present) and the seed becomes wet, the seed begins a transformation which neutralizes these “anti sprouting” chemicals so that the new plant can emerge from the seed. These sprout inhibitors can and do cause harm in the body when they are ingested. I won’t go into all of the details of what these anitnutrients do in the body but basically they bind up with minerals in the gut and then are deposited around the body, only some of it is excreted. For a thorough understanding of this please review the attached article! Most people don’t understand that plants can be problematic if not properly prepared. Our ancestors did!! In olden times, the foodways our ancestors practiced were based on traditional wisdom passed down from generation to generation in the kitchen. Our health and wellbeing would be enhanced by incorporating traditional food knowledge into our lives again. Enjoy the reading!
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/1893-living-with-phytic-acid
Thank you Valerie for the interesting insight!
However I have other opinion about whole grains, etc. Today’s food is processed in a way that it leaves nothing useful for the body (it includes grain processing). In the past people got used to eat unprocessed, raw food, therefore received more vitamins and minerals. Rice bran contains much more useful material for our stomach than we got used to think of it. The processed (polished) rice grain has almost no benefit, therefore we just fill the stomach and force it to process food which does not bring the body necessary nutritions.
Human body has been designed in a way that it can take a good care of itself by itself. Meaning that there are different ferments to process different food. It’s just a matter of helping our body to do that job by proper food combination which can be processed easily.
Anastasia.
I love your site, and especially your focus on mushrooms as living things! Your approach is very inspiring, and I think you are more careful because you are vegetarian!
I found your site because i was looking for traditional ways to pickle Lactarius mushrooms. I have been very pleasantly surprised to find your Suillus recipes, because where I live in northern California, Suillus and Lactarius are very abundant in the woods.
I wanted to comment on this post, though, because I think there is something very interesting in the link Valerie was talking about. I’ve been studying grains and beans recently myself. I think you might have misunderstood her link – it’s not that whole grains are bad!
Whole grains certainly have more nutrients than processed grains, but because they are living things, they have special defenses to protect their nutrients, until it rains and it is time for the seed to sprout. When the living seed becomes thoroughly wet, chemical changes occur! The special nutrient defenses are turned off, and many more nutrients become available.
It is believed that this is why the old ways of grain preparation often included soaking or sprouting grains, like for Vollkornbrot, beer, beans and many other dishes. The soaking process has been found to stimulate chemical processes inside the living grain that make the nutrients better able to be absorbed by your body. This is especially important for vegetarians to know, because we get less of certain nutrients than meat eaters do. So we have to take special care to release the nutrients in our food, as you are showing on your site.
Proper soaking is particularly important for beans, by the way. It reduces the presence of indigestible (and embarrassing!) compounds in the beans, not only because they are dissolved in the water, but also because when the bean becomes wet, the bean itself produces enzymes to break down the indigestible materials, in preparation for sprouting and growing.
Many chemical changes occur in seeds as they prepare to grow – they are living things, with defenses! – and these changes make the seeds much more nutritious. It’s fascinating!
And thanks for your site, you taught me many things!
Hi Anastasia, Have you heard anything there in Germany about poisonings from Leccinum insigne ? Here in the States they had a warning about them. As soon as I can find the link, I’ll send it to you. I also heard you say you didn’t care much for Morels. I’m in Northern Michigan and we had the best season in years. I ended up drying over 2,000 to use in the winter months. Also found some Albino or sterial Morels. They are in the process of beind ID. Don’t know if the pictures I also posted will come thru or not.
[IMG]http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa426/mushroomjack1/WhitesintheOrchard030.jpg[/IMG]
Albino Morels
[IMG]http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa426/mushroomjack1/OrchardRd3019.jpg[/IMG]
Hi Jack,
No, I have not heard any warnings about Leccinum insigne. In general, I believe that any mushroom can be poisonous if it absorbs lot of metals, pollution, dust, etc. Unfortunately, the environment on our planet is not getting any better. So, I am trying to collect mushrooms in relatively clear places. In Germany it’s very difficult to do because there is a lot of industry, farming, roads, etc. everywhere.
Wow, impressive (I refer to your morel harvest)!! I am not sure I would be so much into Morels because I love Boletes and find them to be the best
Of course, people have different tastes and preferences. So, if your mushroom love is for Morels, enjoy them and share your success with us! I like to hear stories about edible mushroom hunting from mushroom lovers 
I’ll check what we can do about posting images in comments…
Here’s the link I was talking about Anastasia. If it will post right.
http://leslieland.com/2009/07/wild-mushroom-warning-the-scaber-stalks-leccinum-species-may-no-longer-be-considered-safe/
Hi Jack,
Yes, the link is fine. Thank you for the link.
Actually, I am a little concerned about the left mushroom on the first photo in article – the cap of mushroom has strange color – I would not pick such a mushroom because it is not Orange Birch Bolete (Leccinum Versipelle).
Then, I find it strange that the article describes the problem with Leccinum scabrum although the posted photos illustrate different Leccinum species.
The last photo represents some very old Leccinum scabrum mushrooms which I never pick (because such old species neither have taste benefit nor give a pleasant feeling on the tongue).
In general, they did not specify where the mushrooms were collected – as I have mentioned it could be done along the road or under the fence of some industry manufacturers…
I have not heard of any health problems caused by this type of mushroom neither in Germany nor Finland, nor Russia. Maybe that problem is specific to the region where it occured…