A savoury alternative to traditional stuffing

Call this savoury mix of wild rice, quinoa, mushrooms and greens a stuffing or a pilaf. It’s not meant to go inside a turkey, but it has the definitive herbal flavours I associate with and insist on when I make any kind of stuffing — sage mainly, but also thyme. Forever stored in my bank of taste memories, I have looked forward to them every Thanksgiving since my first forkful of the packaged stuffing of my youth.

Here, I cook wild rice and lightly toasted quinoa in an abundance of flavourful vegetarian porcini mushroom broth. The enriched broth that remains after the grains are cooked is even more robust. I use it to moisten the pilaf before heating it in the oven. Who needs turkey dripping?

There are also lots of moist, meaty fresh mushrooms here along with the dried porcinis, and plenty of crunchy celery, another ingredient I associate with stuffing.

But I also wanted to add colour. Kale or chard are both great choices for that. If you’re trying to find a place for greens at the table but don’t want to deal with large amounts of them to stem and cook for a crowd, pilaf is a great place for them.

Because these grains are inherently nutty, and because I love the contrast of textures, I add walnuts to the mix, and walnut oil, too. The result is substantial and will satisfy everybody at the table: vegetarians and vegans, those who avoid gluten, and carnivores as well.