Lemony Wild Rice with Saffron and Fresh Tomatoes

This lemony wild rice with tomatoes is easy to make ahead of time and keeps well so that you can enjoy it again and again throughout the week . . .

With everyone in our household adjusting to an earlier schedule now that school’s back in session, I’ve been turning to some of my “old reliables” — recipes that I’ve made since I was in high school or college and could probably make in my sleep. They remind me of cozy times, sitting in and studying, or maybe recovering from a late night out.

This lemony wild rice with tomatoes is one of my favorite comfort foods. The wild rice is deliciously chewy and completely addictive when flavored with saffron chicken broth (vegetable broth to make this a vegetarian dish), fresh lemon, and fresh tomatoes. The rice takes about an hour to cook, so I typically make a large batch at the beginning of the week and keep another serving on hand. Because the rice is so hardy and chewy, it does really well being reheated after being stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days. It’s difficult to tell that it’s been re-heated, making it great for a busy family!

I love making this dish in late summer and early fall, when heirloom tomatoes are at their peak and there are lots of them. I’m always looking for new heirloom tomato recipes! But you can easily use cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, etc., and make this recipe at any time of the year. But do use a good tomato because a good tomato flavor is key.

How to pick good tomatoes

When in doubt, go with cherry or grape tomatoes. These typically arrive at grocery stores tasting best and don’t get mealy. Then plum tomatoes. Of course, this advice goes out the window when heirloom tomatoes are in season (August – September).

Any time you’re buying a tomato, if you can, smell it. It should have a strong tomato smell, especially near the stem. It should feel heavy for its size. If it is light, it is probably underripe. Don’t get it if it is very soft to the touch or if it is rock-hard.

Tomato Color Guide

Different pigments produce differing balances of sugars and acids (such as citric and malic acids). We taste sugars as sweetness, and acids as a counterweight of sourness. Without the flavor of the acid, flavors taste dull or flat. The acidity gives them a sense of freshness or brightness.

Below is an overview of the general flavors associated with tomato colors. Any of the below colors work for this dish, although I typically go for a red or orange tomato.

Red: The redness in tomatoes reflects that they are rich in lycopene. This is the classic tomatoey flavor, with a balance of sweetness and acidity and an almost savory flavor. These tomatoes tend to be slightly sweet, with a slight tang.

Orange: These tomatoes tend to be rich in beta-carotene, which is sweeter and less acidic. These tomatoes tend to have a sweeter, milder flavor. Compared with red tomatoes, the sugar content is higher, and the acidity is lower.

Yellow: Yellowness indicates that the tomato is rich in flavonoids, which have a mild, fruity flavor. These tend to have less of an acid content. For this reason, they often taste sweeter (although they don’t typically have a higher sugar content). Because the flavor is delicate, they are best fresh rather than cooked.

Green: There are tomatoes that ripen to green. These tend to have a tart, herby flavor, and they can be a bit bitter. Compared with red tomatoes, they tend to have more acid and less sugar.

Purple or Black: These tomatoes get their color from anthocyanins, which can have an intense, complex, earthy, and almost smoky flavor. These tend to have high sugar levels, but also a high level of acidity which gives them a deeper flavor. They tend to be the most savory tomatoes.

Although I like making this lemony wild rice with tomatoes in the late summer / early fall, you can enjoy this recipe year-round. It’s a very cozy dish, making it great comfort food when it’s cold outside.

How to Cook Wild Rice

So many wild rice recipes seem to involve soup! This is so unfortunate – which I say as someone who LOVES soup. You can totally eat wild rice in your soup. It’s just that it is not the best way to enjoy wild rice. Soup broth masks all the things that make wild rice delicious — the subtle aromatic flavor, which reminds me of black tea, and the chewiness tends to ebb the longer the rice has been sitting in broth.

It is really easy to cook wild rice; it just takes time. You basically boil some water, add the rice, cover it, and then forget about it for an hour. Doesn’t get much easier than that.

It’s about a 3:1 water to wild rice ratio. From 1 cup of dry wild rice, you can expect to have about 3 cups of cooked rice. I’ll walk through more details on how to cook wild rice in the recipe below.

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