Over the weekend I made a little challenge for myself. I have this binder:
I get a lot of cooking magazines and I’m constantly tearing out recipes and ideas that I want to try. Occasionally (read: about twice a year), I sit down and actually organize my huge pile of torn out pages into categories, cut the recipes down to smaller sizes and put them in my binder. This is all well and good…except that i RARELY ever actually make any of the recipes.
So, this week, after I had everything all organized, I spent some time looking through the binder and made a list of some things I wanted to try this week. This is the first week in a while where I finally have some time to cook so the timing worked out pretty well! I pulled out a few recipes that I’m planning to try this week and stuck them in the front cover of the binder for easy access.
Today for lunch I tried out the first recipe- Risotto Cakes. It’s a tiny little scrap, not even really a recipe, that explains how to turn your leftover risotto (or orzotto in my case) into risotto cakes!
This is a fun way to transform your leftovers into what feels like a completely new dish! I served mine on a bed of spinach…modeled after my all-time favorite crab cake salad that I can’t get any more because the restaurant that served it closed 🙁
These are quick and easy enough to make for lunch, and hearty enough for dinner.
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Risotto Cakes
Makes 6-8 cakes
2 cups cold leftover risotto/orzotto
1 egg
1 c breadcrumbs (panko or regular), divided
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, beat the egg.
2. Add the risotto and 1/2 c breadcrumbs and mix well.
3. Pour the remaining breadcrumbs onto a plate.
4. Form the risotto mixture into patties and coat with breadcrumbs.
5. Heat a large skillet (cast iron or nonstick) with vegetable oil. Pan sear until golden brown on both sides.
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Add a little of your favorite salad dressing and a few extra veggies if you want!
What’s your favorite way to transform leftovers?
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
PS…Hubby told me these were the best risotto cakes he’d ever had. I told him he’d never had risotto cakes before…He told me not to split hairs 😉
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wow sweetheart! these look amazing! in all honestly, I have never had risotto before! i know! but this recipe looks amazing! thanks for sharing xo 😀
p.s. you MUST try edamame 😉
I’ve tried a similar recipe for reusing leftover rice pilaf too, works just as well. I missed using the breadcrumbs, looks like that makes all the difference! Good one!
I dont think I’ve ever had risotto before but it looks so delicious! 🙂
wow, these look amazing. i will definitely be bookmarking this recipe! thanks for sharing
I love turning leftovers into “cakes”. I’ve made quinoa cakes and black bean cakes. and of course, I’ll turn anything into a taco!
what a fantastic idea! my mom makes classic Italian rice balls and the base is risotto…not just plain old rice. I guess this is a similar concept! I love it!!
I love risotto but never would have thought to make risotto cakes! Such a great idea! And it looks like your cakes turned out beautifully! I’m putting this recipe on my list of new recipes to try! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I for some reason have still not made risotto, and therefor have not made risotto cakes. However this needs to change, and soon. Looks delicious!
These look delicious 🙂
I love leftovers, so they’re usually not an issue for me. But when I want to change things up, I toss a bunch of random things from the previous night’s dinner with some greens. It works 100% of the time!
These cakes look delicious btw! I would probably make extra risotto just so I could make these the next day.
haha making extra is def gonna be my new plan from now on!
never mind riscotto cakes! they look delicious!!!
Your twice a year binder review is way more organized than anything I’ve got going on 🙂 These risotto cakes look fantastic! I’ve never seen it before, but definitely can appreciate (and love) the leftover makeover. PS: I have a holiday giveaway going on right now!
Awesome idea. I wonder if this could be done with a flax egg? I bet it could, I need to try!
I actually never make risotto, which is a shame because it’s so good! I used to make broken spaghetti risotto a lot, but got out of the habit.
I will definitely be trying these! They look amazing and I love how you threw them on top of a salad.
ooh broken spaghetti risotto…that sounds like fun!