There are four Barefoot Bloggers recipes this month! I'm in a little heaven of Ina-Garten-goodness!
Although the Chive Risotto Cakes aren't supposed to be posted until next week, they made such a perfect meal with this week's recipe--the Herb Roasted Onions--that I just can't separate the two. (Thanks to Kelly and Deb for the great picks!)
The risotto cakes recipe is from Ina Garten's newest cookbook Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics. As an intro to the recipe, Ina says,
"I used to have to wait until I made risotto in order to make risotto cakes from the leftovers. So I decided to do a recipe for risotto cakes that I make from scratch."
To which my first thought was, "Leftover risotto? What's that?" My second thought was, "Fried risotto...isn't that kind of like frying a Twinkie?"
Yeah...it is. But, as I suspect is the case with the fried Twinkie, while the risotto cakes were very, very bad (for the waistline), they were also very, very good! One tip--try to get as much moisture out of the risotto as possible when you drain it, so that your cakes stick together better later.
The onions were also delicious. I've only recently discovered onions as a side dish--rather than a condiment--and I love them! They're sweet and crunchy and full of flavor, which the vinaigrette this recipe uses enhances nicely. I recommend plating up the risotto cakes and onions and pouring the leftover vinaigrette over all of it together--in the words of the BC, how bad could it be?
For this week's recipes, read on.
Chive Risotto Cakes (from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten)
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
- 1 ½ cup cups grated Italian Fontina cheese (5 ounces)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
- Good olive oil
Bring a large (4 quart) pot of water to a boil and add ½ tablespoon salt and the Arborio rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. The grains of rice will be quite soft. Drain the rice in a sieve and run under cold water until cool. Drain well.
Meanwhile, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, chives, Fontina, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a medium bowl. Add the cooled rice and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, until firm.
When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
Spread the panko in a shallow dish. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Form balls of the rice mixture using a standard (2 1/4 –inch) ice cream scoop or a large spoon. Pat the balls into patties 3 inches in diameter and ¾ inch thick. Place 4-6 patties in the panko, turning once to coat. Place the patties in the hot oil and cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side until the risotto cakes are crisp and nicely browned. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Continue cooking in batches, adding oil as necessary, until all the cakes are fried. Serve hot.
Note from Ina: “Panko, or Japanese bread flakes, have a crisper, lighter texture than regular bread crumbs.”
Herb Roasted Onions (from Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten)
- 2 red onions
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup good olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove the stem end of each onion and carefully slice off the brown part of the root end, leaving the root intact. Peel the onion. Stand each onion root end up on a cutting board and cut the onion in wedges through the root. Place the wedges in a bowl.
For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, mustard, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Pour the dressing over the onions and toss well.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the onions to a sheet pan, reserving the vinaigrette that remains in the bowl. Bake the onions for 30 to 45 minutes, until tender and browned. Toss the onions once during cooking. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with the reserved dressing. Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste and serve warm or at room temperature.
