Globecooking recipe : Parmesan Crusted Risotto Balls (Italy)

Having come across a box of risotto rice lurking at the back of the cupboard, I decided to make risotto. Nothing very ground-breaking so far ! But what I was rather pleased with was finding an ingenious way of using up the leftover cooked risotto and making something actually rather delicious with it.

Parmesan Crusted Risotto Balls

ingredients :

for the risotto :

a box of risotto rice

a glug of olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 leek, finely chopped

a handfull of mushrooms, finely chopped

white wine or chicken stock (or a bit of both)

salt, pepper, herbs and spices of your choice (I used oregano, garlic pepper, smoked paprika)

1 egg, beaten

dried breadcrumbs

parmesan

To make the risotto, gently fry the onion, leek and mushrooms over a low heat for 10 minutes until they are soft but not browned. Toss in the risotto rice and stirfry for a couple of minutes until it goes opaque but doesn't start to stick.

I had some leftover white wine that had been left in the fridge which I added to the pot before topping up with chicken stock - in fact, I put a Knorr Stock Pot in the pan and let it melt then added hot water from the kettle as needed, constantly stirring until the water was absorbed and the rice soft. It was still slightly too al dente so I turned off the heat after 20 minutes and put a lid on it so that it could finish cooking in its own steam.

So here's what was left over after the meal.

I (or rather Pierre) mixed the breadcrumbs and parmesan in a bowl - I also added more of the herbs and spices from before.

Prepare three dishes side by side - one with the risotto, one with the breadcrumbs and a third with a beaten egg. If you think my egg looks very pale, it's because I was using up egg whites from my Crème Catalane.

Pierre loved getting his hands in for the next stage ! Gently shape the risotto into balls - mould it between your palms and squeeze quite hard, it's only once it's shaped that you have to be gentle so that it doesn't fall apart. 

Dip in the egg then roll in the breadcrumbs and place on a tray.

Chill in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour then fry in a frying pan over a moderate heat, gently rolling them around from time to time. (One totally fell apart but the others stayed in one piece.)

These can be eaten hot or cold, as an accompaniment to meat or as part of a picnic or packed lunch.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Globe-cooking recipe : Rosemary-stuffed chicken with roasted Mediterranean veg (France)

Edd Kimber recipes inspired by ‘The Jordans Wildlife Garden’

Globe-cooking recipe : Bourek (Algeria)