Wild Rice with Berries

Origin: Before borders and empires, the Anishinaabe people followed a prophecy that led them to “the place where food grows on water.”
There they found manoomin — wild rice — a sacred gift that sustained bodies and spirits alike. Harvested by canoe, dried over fire, and winnowed by hand, it was never just food but ceremony, reciprocity, and survival.

This dish is an echo of that lineage — wild rice cooked slow, folded with the sweetness of berries, the resin of pine, and the richness of fat.
It remembers a time when every ingredient came from relationship, not possession.

A dish that walks the line between earth and memory — toasted wild rice simmered in pine-scented broth, folded with berries, sage, and the richness of ancestral fat.
Every bite carries smoke, forest, and gratitude — a reminder that nourishment was once ceremon

It is both offering and remembrance — a way to honor what was given, and what was taken.

Ingredients

• 1 cup true wild rice (hand-harvested, if possible—check Indigenous-owned sources)
• 2½ cups water or light broth (infused with cedar or pine needles, optional)
• 1 tbsp duck fat, bison fat, or good quality butter
• ½ cup fresh or dried berries (cranberries, blueberries, chokecherries, or elderberries)
• ¼ cup wild onions or leeks, finely chopped (sub green onions or shallots)
• 1 tsp fresh sage, minced (or pinch of dried)
• Salt, to taste
• Optional: crushed juniper berries, toasted sunflower seeds for crunch, whisper of maple.

How The Alchemy Happens

Parch the rice: In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the dry wild rice gently until it begins to darken slightly and release a nutty aroma. Stir continuously. This step awakens it.

Infuse the broth (optional): Simmer pine needles or a cedar tip in your water for 10 minutes, then strain. Use this infused liquid to cook the rice.

Cook the rice: Add parched rice to pot with water or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low. Cover and simmer ~45 minutes, until rice curls and splits. Drain excess liquid if needed.

In a pan, melt your fat. Sauté wild onions and sage until fragrant. Fold in the berries just until they soften and bleed into the pan.

Combine: Gently toss cooked rice with the sautéed mixture. Season with salt. Taste. Let it rest. It deepens as it sits.

Serve warm or at room temp, preferably with hands, outside, beneath sky.