Sides usually offer up a lot of calories, and if they don’t, they lack on flavor. Not this recipe. To cut down on the calories, it only adds dried fruit and pecans to get a nice burst of flavor.

You can experiment with what dried fruits to use, but I’m posting what I used on my first attempt.

Ingredients:

• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth


Sauteeing the Rice and Trinity

• 1 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups wild rice-brown rice mix
• 1 bay leaf
• 3/4 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, onion and bell pepper (trinity), stirring occasionally until softened (about 8 minutes).
3. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes).


Wild Rice, Fruit and Pecan Stuffing

4. Add rice, stirring to toast, for about 1 minute.
5. Add the chicken broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper and 1 1/2 cups water. Increase the heat and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover, stir, and continue cooking, uncovered, until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender (about another 20 to 40 minutes).
7. Meanwhile, spread pecans on a baking sheet and toast 5 to 7 minutes (until fragrant). Once toasted, remove from oven and set aside.
8. Now, discard bay leaf from rice and stir in pecans and dried fruit. Let sit, covered, for about 5 minutes.
9. Season stuffing to taste and fold in dried fruit and pecans.

No butter, no fat (maybe a minute amount from the broth), but a lot of flavor.

This dish goes well with anything and you can really use it as a stuffing if you’re cooking a turkey or other bird that can be stuffed.