Crispy Risotto Rice Cakes

Risotto is my Achilles’ heel. As much as I love rice, you'd think I'd be able to bang out a decent risotto, right?

Well, it's been known to happen, but I usually end up overcooking it. To make up for my shameful failures, I am pretty good at turning a bowl of leftover (sometimes mushy) risotto into crispy rice cakes.

Smoked salmon and peas risotto cakes served with a peppery mesclun dressed with a simple lemon-honey dressing.

These rice cakes couldn't be easier to make. Just take about 2 ½ to 3 cups cold, leftover risotto and add 1 egg to bind it all together. Form into paddies (they'll be sticky!) and drop them into a frying pan with enough oil for shallow frying. The trick to keeping the cakes from falling apart is to get a nice crust before flipping them. People have a tendency to want to move things around in the pan. If I've just described you, simply walk away as they are cooking. I gave my patties about 4 or 5 uninterrupted minutes on each side (over medium heat). Once they are done, remove them to a rack until you're ready to serve (or keep warm in a low oven if necessary).

Serve warm.


Related posts: Homemade smoked salmon

Enjoying the fruits of my labor

For brunch we had creamy scrambled eggs with my DIY smoked salmon. The bread is a dense German-style rye I picked up at the PSU market from Fressen Artisan Bakery. It's a little bit dryer than the Danish-style rye we like, but still went beautifully with the creamy eggs.




While I'm here, I'll remind the other NE PDX'ers (not that they need reminding) that the Hollywood and the King farmers' markets kick off this weekend. I'm going to hit up the King market tomorrow to see what's available. That is, if Mother Nature doesn't decide to pummel us with another hellacious downpour!