Wild Rice & Shaggy Manes

I like spending time in the wilderness and eating wild foods; the thing is there really isn’t a cookbook for some of the wild foods I like. There are lots of recipes for wild rice, however not many people cook shaggy manes as often as I do, so I create my own recipes.

This Wild Rice and Shaggy Manes side dish has a delightfully nutty aroma and flavor the whole family will love.

Shaggy mane or Shaggy Ink Cap; is a common fungus seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads, and waste areas, in the late summer and early fall. The fruiting bodies appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, in a short time the bell shaped caps open out. The caps are white, and covered with scales. This is the origin of the common names of the fungus. The gills beneath the cap are white, then pink, then turn black and secrete a black liquid filled with spores, hence the Shaggy Ink Cap name. This mushroom is difficult to harvest and eat because it autodigests and will turn black and dissolve itself in a matter of hours after being picked or depositing spores.

When young it is an excellent edible mushroom provided that it is eaten soon after being collected it keeps very badly because of the autodigestion of its gills and cap. If long-term storage is desired, microwaving, sautéing or simmering until limp will allow the mushrooms to be stored in a refrigerator for several days or frozen. Also, placing the mushrooms in a glass of ice water will delay the decomposition for a day or two so that you have time to incorporate them into a meal. Processing or icing must be done whether for eating or storage within four to six hours of harvest to prevent undesirable changes to the mushroom.

Wild rice is a group of four species of grass, and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in North America, India, and China, is now a delicacy in North America.

Wild rice is not directly related to Asian rice, although they are close cousins, Wild-rice grains have a chewy outer sheath with a tender inner grain that has a slightly nutty taste.

The plants grow in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams; often with only the flowering head of wild rice rises above the water. The grain is eaten by ducks and other aquatic wildlife, as well as by humans.

1 cup Wild Rice

4 cups diced Shaggy Manes

2 Onions diced

A dash of Olive Oil

4 cups water

Wild rice takes about 50 minutes to prepare and cook.

Rinse wild rice in cold water.

Combine 1 cup wild rice with 4 cups water.

Bring to a boil and cover for 45 minutes or until rice has curled open.

1 cup uncooked rice should yield between 3 to 4 cups when cooked.

While the rice is cooking it is a good time to prepare the rest of dinner.

While the wild rice is cooking it is a good time to start cooking your main dish in my case stake and the shaggy manes.

Wash the shaggy manes.

Dice the shaggy manes and add them and a dash of olive oil to a hot frying pan.

Dice the onions and add them to the sautéing shaggy manes.

Sauté the shaggy manes and onions stirring frequently until cooked, the onions should be opaque when done.

When cooked the wild rice will curl open showing the white insides.

Add the shaggy manes and onions to the wild rice mix and cover until the main dish is ready.

When the main dish is ready serve.