Wild Rice Pilaf with Sweet Currants and Toasted Pine Nuts--Serves 6

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of butter
1 small onion-small diced
2 cups of wild rice
5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. freshly cracked pepper
½ teaspoon of ground cumin
½ cup of currants
¼ cup of toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons of fresh mint

Procedure
Heat butter in a saucepan and add onions. Cook until tender, about five minutes. Add rice and stir. Add stock, bay leaf, salt, pepper and cumin. Bring to a boil while stirring then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 40 minutes on very low heat. Do not open the lid while your rice is cooking.

Toast pine nuts in a small sauté pan over medium heat or in your toaster oven tray lined with aluminum foil until golden. When rice is done, fold in currants, pine nuts and fresh mint. *Note: You can also place the rice in a 350 degree oven once it comes up to a boil in an oven-safe pot for 45 minutes.

Golden raisins are a delicious substitute for currants and you can use almonds or pepitas instead of pine nuts for variation. I've also used fresh cilantro instead of mint and added a little curry powder to this recipe and it goes great with Indian food.