So, it's been well over a year since I have added anything to this blog. Sigh.
I can't promise I will stick with it now, but I'm going to try. I really miss this blog. I refer to it all the time when I make my weekly meal plan. So, without further ado, I shall jump right in.
I love left-overs. I really do. I try really hard to make food that will last a while when I cook. Big pots of soup or stew are good. Casserole-type things like lasagna are good. Slow cooker meals. That sort of thing. That way, I don't have to cook as often.
Some things are really good left-over. In fact, some things, like lasagna and jambalaya, are actually BETTER left-over because they sit in the fridge and get all happy, as Emeril would say.
But some things aren't that great left-over, like risotto. Just re-heating it is always sort of disappointing.
I made a big ol' batch of risotto for Sunday dinner last weekend. I had to make something sort of soft, because I got my wisdom teeth out on Friday, and anything crunchy was still out of the question. The recipe I used, which I will share in my next post, made enough risotto to feed my neighborhood, so I had to figure out how to make the Tuesday Night left-overs as good as the Sunday Dinner serving. And, after looking around on the trusty internet, I mixed and matched some recipes and ended up making the risotto cakes in the picture above.
All I can say is Thank You, Trusty Internet!
First of all, Kev said my plating looked like restaurant food! This PROVES that all these cooking competition reality shows I watch are good for something! Unfortunately, Kev also has a pretty bad cold, and couldn't taste anything. So you will just have to take my word for it...these risotto cakes were GOOD! Daphne even liked them!
And to make them even better, I used left-over pasta sauce from Monday night. Kev calls this "food synergy." It's a way of making different things in the meal plan work together. He should really write a book.
Anyway, here is how I did the risotto cakes (the sauce recipe is elsewhere on this blog in a post called Time to Make Sauce, but any good tomato or marinara sauce will do. Trader Joe's pizza sauce is good).
RISOTTO CAKES
Ingredients:
Leftover risotto (that has been in the fridge at least overnight)
flour
eggs (1 or 2, depending on how much risotto you have)
bread crumbs
seasoning herbs and spices of your choice
olive oil
tomato sauce or marinara
parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. (Do this 4 to 24 hours ahead of time) Take a small hand full of the cold risotto and form a patty, maybe the size of a hockey puck. (Your risotto should stick together easily, but if it is falling apart, you can add an egg and mix it in to bind the rice. I didn't need to do that because mine was really sticky).
2. After you have formed all your patties, it's time to bread them. You need three shallow bowls: one with flour, one with a beaten egg (or 2 if you have a lot of risotto), and one with bread crumbs. I usually add a little water to the egg to thin it out. You can season all three with salt and pepper or Italian seasoning, or whatever you like, and that you think will compliment your risotto. For example, a little sage would be nice with butternut squash risotto. Basil and oregano with parmesan or mushroom risotto.
3. Dredge the patties to coat in the flour (shake off excess), then the egg, then the bread crumbs, and place on a platter or dish. After all your patties are breaded, cover with plastic and chill in the fridge for a few hours. This will help the breading stay on and the patty to hold together during cooking.
4. When you're ready to cook, heat your oven to 350 and remove the risotto cakes from the fridge. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to a nonstick skillet, and when it's pretty hot but not smoking, cook the patties until golden on each side, flipping once. Don't crowd the pan...do it in batches. I did three at a time. Put the finished ones on a parchment-lined cookie sheet in the oven to keep them warm until it's time for the best part - EATING them!
5. Serve on a plate on top of warm tomato sauce, and topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Left-overs are awesome!
