Oh, you were on a diet??  Feel free to leave immediately.

I often have leftover rissotto after I make it, and luckily this time I had more than usual because it contained shitake mushrooms*.

Our kids hate mushrooms.

In order to make it appeal to those that like their food as unhealthy as possible, I thought I would try frying them into “cakes”.  It wasn’t too hard to do, and they STILL didn’t like them.

I did, though.  Mmmmmm mmm!

Recipe:

Leftover risotto
1 egg
panko or bread crumbs
oil to fry

Make sure the risotto is cold before making into about 1/2 cup balls.  It makes them stick together better, so you can probably throw the bowl in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before making them.  Take the egg and wisk it up with a little water in a shallow bowl that will allow for dipping.  Put the crumbs into a flat plate.  I usually start with about 1.5 cups and add more, as needed.

When the risotto is cold, get the oil heated up in the pan.  Make the risotto into balls, flatten, dip in the egg and then cover with the breadcrumbs.  Fry up a few minutes per side until nice and golden brown.  Take out and place on paper napkins to absorb the grease.

Serve right away.  With a big salad.  Or with sauteed spinach and catfish.

*Making risotto with shitake mushrooms isn’t much different than plain risotto.  I used dried mushrooms, and about 20 minutes ahead of making the risotto, boil them in about 3 cups water.  When done, take the mushrooms out of the broth and add another cup or two of chicken broth.  Heat up and use this as the broth for the rissotto.  When you are about to add the last cup of broth to the risotto, also add in the mushrooms and continue on with the recipe.