Risotto Cakes Rock!
Next time you make risotto, make extra so you have enough leftover to make risotto cakes. Yesterday I made some and they were SO good. I spent most of the day working in the yard, since springtime on Whidbey Island is so green, I swear if you stood still long enough the foliage would grow right over you. So we all worked up a great appetite working in the yard.
Leftover risotto doesn’t look like much, and although the easy recipe idea sounded good, I wasn’t so sure when I took the risotto out of the fridge and it was a cold, firm, white lump. Never the less, I poured some bread crumbs into a shallow dish, heated some EVOO and butter in a skillet and carved off a large spoonful of risotto. I tried forming a patty with the spoon, but that wasn’t cutting it, so I used my hands and formed small patties. Then I pressed them into the breadcrumbs until well coated on both sides.
I put them into the waiting skillet and they sizzled. I let them cook until they formed a crispy golden crust then gently flipped them over. They’re a bit crumbly when they are warmed through. The crust formed more quickly on the second side. Carefully I removed them and plated them for my husband and I.
Oh my gosh, they were SO good. Crispy on the outside, creamy and delicious on the inside. They were amazing. My husband insisted I make some to share with the neighbors, because they love risotto. They were very pleased to receive them, let me tell you and I was happy to share.
You’ve got to try them!
Julie Languille
Busy wife and mom, and owner
Dinners In A Flash - Easy Dinner Recipes
Filed under easy recipes | Comment (0)Easy Recipe - Chicken Piccata and Risotto Milanese
Last night after a day of gardening, my family whipped together a delicious dinner of Chicken Piccata, Risotto Milanese and Kaylah’s Green Salad with Carrots and Apples.
I started the risotto first, by mincing the onion and shallot (because I had one on hand) and sauteing them in butter and oil. I added the rice to toast and coat, then added the first liquid coarse. Kaylah, my 9 year old, delighted in pounding the chicken breasts for the Piccata. Pounding makes them tender, and they cook quickly and evenly. I seasoned the chicken, dredged it in flour and started it cooking in butter and oil. Kaylha went on to create her signature salad and my husband came in to help finish the risotto while I created a pan sauce of lemon, wine, butter and capers for the chicken.
I made extra rissoto this time, because I want to try making risotto cakes. You scoop leftover cooled risotto and shape into patties, coat in breadcrumbs and panfry in butter and oil until crispy, golden and delicious. We’ll have that over a bed of greens today for lunch when we have earned a break from our projects. My daughter and I are cleaning up the garden, planting vegetable seeds and weed whacking all the extra exuberent growth that arrives this time of year.
Risotto Milanese
This is more of a method than a recipe. It is a delicious recipe, it’s really inexpensive, grows easily to feed a crowd and can by paused halfway through for early preparation for a dinner party, then finished just before dinner.
1 small onion, minced (or shallots, leeks or green onions)
4 TB Butter, divided
2 TB Olive oil
Arborio rice
Dry white wine - optional
Chicken, mushroom or other stock
Mushrooms, apsaragus or other vegetable or shrimp to flavor the risotto
Parmesan cheese, grated
Saute onion in oil and 2 Tb butter until softened. Add rice, measuring one handful per person plus one (or more) for the pot. Toast the rice until fully coated in fat, adding more oil or butter if needed. Add the first coarse of liquid. Pour in wine (if using) or stock until the rice is covered and the liquid is over the rice. Salt the mixture and stir. Let the rice cook until the liquid is nearly all absorbed then repeat the coarse with more stock, salt and stirring.
Prepare your flavoring. I used mushrooms, which I quarter then coat with olive oil and pan roast until tender and flavorful. If you are using asparagus, blanch it until just tender and chop it in bite size pieces. Use the blanching water as one of you liquids to flavor the risotto. For shrimp, peel, devein and remove tails. Frozen shrimp needn’t be fully defrosted. It will defrost and cook really fast in the risotto. shrimp risotto needs to be served really quickly when it is done so the shrimp doesn’t overcook.
Generally the risotto is perfect after 3 additions (courses) of liquid, but taste yours as it is almost done and adjust accordingly. Risotto is usually served al dente, meaning is still has a bit of bite and isn’t mushy. When the rice is nearly done add another knob (2 Tb) of butter and stir like a madwoman for a minute or two to emulsify the butter into the risotto sauce. Stir in a half cup or more of Parmesan cheese and your flavoring ingredient and serve when it is all heated through or cooked in the case you are using shrimp.
Chicken Piccata
4 chicken breasts, pounded in ziplock backs to an even 1/3 inch thick (good kid job)
Season salt
Flour to dredge
5 Tb butter, divided
2 Tb olive oil
3 Tb Lemon juice
1/4 Dry white wine
2 Tb Capers
In a skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 Tb butter and heat olive oil. Season chicken breasts on both sides with seasoning salt, then dredge lightly in flour, patting to remove excess. Pan fry until golden brown on both side and until cooked through. About 3 minutes per side. Cook in batches if necessary to avoiv crowding the pan. You can test for doneness by gently poking the chicken and insuring no squidgyness remains. When chicken is done, remove to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Deglaze the pan with the wine, stirring to disolve any browned bits in the pan. Add the lemon juice and the remaining butter and stirr briskly to emulsify. Add capers and stir until warmed. Then server chick with sauce drizzled over, passing any extra sauce at the table.
Kaylah’s Salad with Apples and Carrots
1 handful of greens per person torn.
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 C baby carrots, halved
4 mushrooms, sliced
Vinaigrette, store bought to dress
Combine all ingredients and serve
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