Risotto Cakes

Last night I had no plans for dinner but lots of leftover risotto. I'd frozen some of it and refrigerated about 3 cups with the idea of trying out risotto cakes. There are a couple of methods for doing this. Some recipes advise adding egg yolks and beaten egg whites to room temperature risotto and then pouring the resulting batter onto griddle and cooking it just like you would pancakes. I decided to try another method:

Risotto Cakes

3 cups chilled risotto
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups coarse bread crumbs (I used store-bought, but you could make your own)
6 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350F. Form the chilled risotto into 8 patties using wet hands. Put the flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls. Coat each risotto patty with flour, tapping off the excess, then egg (letting the excess drip off), and then bread crumbs, handling them very gently. Transfer the cakes to wax paper.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot (but not smoking!), and then sauté 4 of the cakes, turning them over once, until browned (5 to 6 minutes total). Transfer the cakes to a baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and sauté the remaining 4 cakes in the same manner.

Depending on what sort of leftover risotto you're using, garnish appropriately. We happened to have Acorn Squash, Rosemary and Blue Cheese Risotto, so I sprinkled the cakes with crumbled blue cheese and fresh chopped rosemary.

Makes 4 side-dish servings or more than enough for 2 main meal servings. Serve with a salad and a big-bodied red wine.

Comments

[Susan from Food Blogga]

Hi Ann,
Did you have any trouble with the rice not adhering? I'm just curious. It certainly doesn't look like it from the picture though. They look terrific! The only problem with risotto cakes is stopping myself from eating them all.

[Deborah]

I've always wanted to try something like this. They look amazing!

[grace]

nice use of leftovers, although glancing at the recipe for the original, i doubt they could be as good as it was. i've been wrong before, though, once or twice... :)

[Ben]

Sounds easy and tasty. I would've added some mashed potatoes just to make them like the potato cakes my mom used to make :-p

[Gretchen Noelle]

I have had my eye on a recipe like this. I should try it this weekend. Yours look delicious!

[mimi]

i'm usually not that creative of leftovers, but love this risotto cake idea!

[adele]

I keep wanting to try risotto cakes, but whenever I prepare risotto, there never seems to be enough left over to make any. One of these days, I may have to prepare risotto with the express purpose of making risotto cakes. :)

[Peter]

These look wonderful and of course...waste not- want not!

[katy]

i have definitely hit that point in the afternoon where i'm too hungry to look at food blogs. can i just take one of those down off the screen please?

[giz]

Now that's what I call carb heaven

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

I've been known to make risotto just to have leftovers for risotto cakes and arancini (risotto balls, usually with a piece of cheese or something hidden inside. Yum!

[Myfrenchkitchen]

I've never made rsitto cakes and I always have risotto leftover. This looks just right for that "next day lunch".
ronell

[dhanggit]

what a brilliant idea Ann!! this is so great...from someone who grew up from a place where we eat rice a day ...i cant stand to see rice wasted..i love this!! i imagine the crunchiness on the surface and creaminess inside :-) yummy

[Johanna]

these look delicious - a quick look at the recipe and I thought you just mixed it all up but then it made sense when I saw that you dip in flour egg and breadcrumbs! I just wish I could organise myself to make these when I make risotto - I usually just end up eating little bits of leftover risotto on toast!

[Sandie (Inn Cuisine)]

Love all the risotto ideas I've been reading in blogs lately, as I'm a huge risotto fan. When I last made some, I intended to make risotto cakes with the leftovers, but we gobbled it all up before I could get creative with any leftovers!

[We Are Never Full]

love these! you can even do suppli or risotto balls and those work best with one or two day old risotto. often a cube of mozzarella is placed in the middle w/ maybe a piece of pancetta or procuitto so when you bite into it it oozes out.

You can tell how crispy yours were! YUM...

[Lori Lynn @ Taste With The Eyes]

Hi Ann - I just read Peter M.'s post on eggplant risotto, now yours. I want to put them together and have Fried Eggplant Risotto Cakes.

I like your method of cooking them.

[Zenchef]

I love this kind of things. What i do sometimes is roll leftover risotto into balls the next day, bread them (flour, egg, bread crumbs), freeze them and deep fry them when needed. Great party starter!

[Cakespy]

OMG!! Have an exceedingly delicious time!! I know I will since you were kind enough to leave off with something fried and delicious for me to try! :-)

[Dana]

Excellent idea! I've made "suppli a telephono" (fried risotto balls with mozzarella cheese inside), but this is another great way to use up leftover risotto! They sound delicious.

[Ellie @ Kitchen Wench]

Not being a huge fan of risotto, I sometimes make it just so I can make risotto cakes :) They're fabulous and can be premade for a quick starter, plus you can add hidden surprises to the middle for extra flavour!