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Monterey Jack and Corn Risotto Cakes This recipe is adapted from a The
Best of Cooking Light, magazine, copyright
2004. You can serve this two ways -- immediately after cooking, or you can make cakes and then pan fry. Both ways are wonderful, and worth trying.
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Ingredients:
32 ounces of
chicken stock, hot
8-16 ounces of water, hot (to be used at end of cooking)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup yellow onions, chopped
1/4 cup green onions (the green part, optional)
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3-7 drops Tabasco sauce (to taste)
2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, cooked (white corn looks better than yellow)
1 cup shredded roasted chicken (optional)
salt and ground black pepper
Directions:
1.
Heat the chicken stock, e.g. in a 2-4 cup Pyrex measuring cup the microwave. Have near the
stove ready for step 5.
2. Saute the yellow onion in olive oil. over medium heat Add a bit of salt while cooking. The onions should cooked until they are just translucent.
3. Add rice and stir to coat in the oil. Cook for about a minute until the rice starts to turn translucent around the edges.
4. Add minced garlic (I like to use a garlic press) and sautee for another 20-30 seconds -- don't over cook.
5. Add enough chicken stock to just cover the rice. Adjust the heat so the liquid is simmering, not boiling.
6. Add the green onions and stir.
7. In 2-3 minutes the mixture will have thickened -- the bubbles will be larger. Add another 1/2 cup hot chicken stock and stir. Over the next 18-20 minutes you'll need to repeat this process. You will probably run out of chicken stock before the risotto is done, so you'll add hot water instead of stock.
8. After about 15 minutes of cooking add the shredded chicken and corn. Add some more liquid and stir.
9. After about 18 minutes you should test the risotto for doneness. Just get a few grains of rice on a fork and taste it. The rice should be firm, but not crunchy.
At this point you have to make sure the texture is right. If you are making risotto cakes then you will want the risotto to be as thick as possible. So, don't add any more water, and maybe even cook it an extra minute or two. But, if you are going to eat it now you may need to add more liquid so the mixture will be creamy and neither too wet nor too dry -- think oatmeal.
10. Remove from heat and add Monterey Jack cheese.
11. Add additional salt as needed. Add ground pepper. Add Tabasco sauce.
At this point you can serve it warm.
Makes a main dish for four. I recommend serving with some good sour dough bread.
Alternative:
12. Prepare a 14x9 inch pan by lining it with parchment. It doesn't haveto look pretty -- just save yourself the effort of washing up!
13. Pour the risotto into the pan and chill. After the risotto has become firm, remove it from the pan. Cut circles, squares or wedges about 3x3. At this point you can freeze the cakes until you want to eat them -- say next week. If you freeze them make sure you thaw the cakes before frying.
13. Heat a skillet with 1/8-1/4 inch oil. Add the risotto shapes and fry until golden brown on one side (about 3 minutes) and then flip and brown the second side. Serve while warm.
I like to serve these with a dollop of Green Onion Pesto on top of or beside the finished cakes.
Enjoy!