I tried a Barefoot Contessa recipe for dinner last night. I saw it on one of her recent shows. The risotto cakes were pretty simple. And quite good. I served them as a main dish. They would probably be better paired with some kind of protein. I didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand, so I improvised with what I had. I used basil instead of chives. I used plain yogurt instead of greek yogurt. And I used parmesan and gouda cheese instead of fontina. You could do lots of different variations on this. They didn’t hold their shape as well as I would have liked. But from other reviews of the recipe that is pretty common. Only one really fell apart. And that’s because it slid off the spatula when I was trying to flip it. It helped to cook them longer on the first side (she says 3 min.), maybe 6 min. or so. Then it gets a good crust and hold together. You definitely have to plan ahead for these since the rice mixture has to set for a while. I made the rice the night before and added the other ingredients the next morning. I only made a half recipe and got 8 cakes out of it. I’ll post the original recipe and my mods.
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used plain yogurt)
2 extra-large eggs (I just used large)
3 Tbsp. minced fresh chives (I used basil and added some salt and garlic powder)
1 1/2 cups grated Italian fontina cheese (5 ounces) (I used parmesan and gouda)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
Good olive oil
Bring a large (4-quart) pot of water to a boil over medium-low heat and add 1/2 tablespoon salt and the Arborio rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. The grains of rice will be quite soft. Drain the rice in a sieve and run under cold water until cool. Drain well.
I served them with peas and roasted cheddar cauliflower. I just wanted to post a pic of the cauliflower. I’ve never had this variety before. It doesn’t taste a lot different, but I don’t think it’s as sweet. I like regular better.
I wonder how these would be chock-full of veggies? Like maybe butternut squash risotto cakes or something like that? I wonder how they’d stick together – better, same, or worse? Its an interesting idea, though, and I might have to try it sometime.
I was thinking the same thing. It’s a great base, now what can I do with it? You could probably make them into a complete meal…add veggies and a protein (bits of ham, chicken or bacon). I’m trying to decide what to do with the leftovers…just reheat them or turn them into something else. I was also trying to think of a sauce that would work with them. I felt like they needed to be dipped into something.