Quick bites: Thrifty risotto cakes.

So I had some mushroom risotto left over today. There wasn’t quite enough left for a full portion, and I don’t really like reheated food anyway. So I decided to turn them into crunchy little treats; risotto cakes!

This was an easy thrifty recipe, and all it requires is you not being afraid of getting a bit messy! Hey, that’s part of the fun of it!

As you have you flavoursome risotto all ready and made up, all you have to do is refrigerate it for an hour or overnight (mines been sitting in the fridge for over a day, just think of those flavours developing!) and then you’re pretty much ready to go! All you will need is some plain flour, a bit of grated parmesan, some breadcrumbs, an egg and some seasoning.

First, prepare a plate of breadcrumbs. I had a slightly stale bread roll I needed to get rid of which I pulled apart and ran through my fingers until it turned into large crumbs. I then put about half a tablespoon of grated parmesan into the mixture, and seasoned generously with salt and pepper. Set aside...

 Put the cooled risotto in a clean bowl (I actually used a large sandwich bag to save me from washing up), and combine with one egg. Move it all about to produce a gooey mixture, and then gradually add the flour. I won’t give you an exact quantity (because I didn’t measure it myself!) but once it starts to form a thick batter type consistency - probably about 3 tablespoons to an egg - you can stop. Add some grated parmesan, of course you can use another finely grated cheese, work with whatever you have then heat a frying pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil before shaping the mixture into palm sized pancakes. This is the sticky part, and it’s easier to just turn the mixture into oddly shaped balls, roll them around in the breadcrumb mixture before putting into the frying pan and pressing down with a wooden spoon to flatten and shape. I used a small non stick pan which only fit one cake at a time, so if you’d like to work with one at a time like me, transfer the crisped cakes into a warm oven until you are ready to serve! Fry for about 2 minutes on each side on medium heat or until nice and golden on both sides!

The great thing about these is that you can top them with anything! I stuck with the mushroom theme by frying up some chopped chestnut mushrooms with some garlic while my cakes were being kept warm in the oven. A dollop of crème fraiche and some parsley and you have yourself a thrifty little snack!