Risotto and Risotto Cakes for Credit Crunch Munch

I have to remind myself to include some of my recipes in blog challenges like Credit Crunch Munch.  Using up left overs and creating new dishes from those bits left in the fridge is second nature to me and I find it pushes my creativity to create something from almost nothing.

This wasn’t really ‘nothing’, I had bought a large roast to have at the weekend when I had visitors.  I had marinated it and slow cooked it in a roasting bag, everyone enjoyed the tender slices of beef.  However, it really was a big joint of beef, so even after another dinner of roast beef slices with gravy and slices with salad, there was still some left.

I decided to dice the cooked beef and cook it in a risotto.

Beef Risotto

150g – 300g left over roast beef cubed
2 tsp butter
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
400g risotto rice
1 litre beef stock
100g frozen peas

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan, add the onions and cook over a low heat for a bout 10 minutes until soft but not coloured.  Add a little water to the pan if the onions stick.
2. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the rice and cook until it turns opaque.  Add a quarter of the stock and stir until all the liquid has been absorbed.
4. Continue to add the stock, stirring constantly until the rice is soft but still has a little bite.
5. Add the cubed beef and frozen peas, stir, turn the heat off and leave with the lid on the pan for 5-10 minutes until it is heated through.
6.  If you have some flat leaved parsley you can add this before serving,  I didn’t have any when I made this and it was fine without.

So now I have a large pan of risotto, too much for three of us to eat and more left overs.  So I thought I’d have a go at making risotto cakes.  The technique was very simple, add an egg to the left over risotto mixture.  Flour a large plate, form patties of risotto and egg mixture on the plate, dust with more flour.  Heat a couple of tbsp of oil in a frying pan and, using a fish slice, gently transfer the risotto cakes to the pan.  Fry until brown and crisp, turn and cook to the same colour on the other side.  Serve with creamed horseradish and salad.