Risotto Cakes with Basil Sauce and Pancetta

It has been a while....but I'm back here....

This recipe appealed to me for one reason or another, mainly because the male member of this household isn't a big fan of risotto and I thought this was an excuse to actually make some risotto...  The result of this recipe is really nice, though it did use a lot of dishes I found, which doesn't bother me because I have an electrical appliance that washes them.  My 'cakes' didn't stay together very well - got a bit stuck on the frying pan.  Maybe after forming the cakes, put the cakes in the freezer to set for 10 minutes...

*Taken from 'COOK', a Women's Weekly publication, published 2006, page 389*

Ingredients

1/2 cup (125ml) dry white wine

1 medium brown onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 cup (200g) arborio rice

3 cups (750ml) chicken stock

2 tbs flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

2 tbs chives, finely chopped

2 tbs Parmesan, finely grated

1 egg white, beaten lightly

4 slices pancetta (60g)

4 oak-leaf lettuce leaves

Basil Sauce

1 tsp cornflour

1 tsp water

3/4 cup (180ml) evaporated milk

2 tbs basil, finely chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to hot (220C/200C fan-forced).

Heat 2 tablespoons of the wine in a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic, stirring, about 2 minutes or until onion softens.

Add rice and remaining wine; cook, stirring, about 3 minutes or until wine reduces by half.  Stir in stock; bring to the boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, covered 15 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.  Remove from the heat; stir in the parsley, chives and cheese. Cool 15 minutes; stir in the egg white.  Using hands, shape risotto mixture into four patties.

Place pancetta on oven tray.  Bake, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until crisp; drain on absorbent paper.  Break pancetta into pieces.

Reduce oven temperate to moderate (180C/160C fan-forced).

Cook risotto cakes in large heated lightly oiled frying pan until browned both sides.  Place cakes on oven tray; bake, uncovered, 10 minutes or until heated through.

Meanwhile, make basil sauce. 

Blend cornflour with the water in a small saucepan; stir in milk.  Stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens slightly, stir in basil.

Serve risotto cakes on lettuce leaves.  Drizzle with basil sauce; top with pancetta.

Serves 4

Baked Potatoes filled with Salad

These were delicious and made very 'light' eating. Felt rather healthy too believe it or not. I added just a little grated cheese to the baked potato after cutting it and instead of prosciutto I used bacon. I didn't make the dressing due to a lack of red wine vinegar in my cupboard (I forgot I had run out!) so instead I made a dressing of balsamic vinegar, mixed with a little olive oil.

*Taken from the Murdoch Book 'Australian Family Favourites' and 'Tossed'*

Ingredients
4 large baking potatoes
4 prosciutto slices
310g tinned corn kernels, drained
2 celery stalks, sliced
100g baby English spinach leaves

-for dressing-
2 1/2 tbs tomato juice
1 1/2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tbs olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C. Thoroughly scrub the skins of the potatoes and prick them several times. Transfer to a roasting tin and bake, uncovered, for at least an hour, or until tender when pierced with a sharp knife.

Meanwhile, whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Season and set aside.

Put a frying pan over high heat. Add the prosciutto and dry-fry for a few minutes on both sides, or until crispy. Break the prosciutto into small pieces and set aside.

Sit the potatoes on a chopping board and make two deep incisions crossways over the top so they open out into quarters - be careful not to cut all the way through.

Put the corn, celery and spinach in a large bowl, pour over two-thirds of the dressing and toss well. Sit the potatoes on four serving plates and spoon a little dressing into each potato. Spoon the salad mixture into each potato, letting it spill over a little. Top with prosciutto and serve at once.

Serves 4

Pesto Corn Hotcakes with Salsa

These were pretty nice, especially if they were served as an entree. A serve of 2 hotcakes is plenty (we had 4 each). Instead of the salsa these could be served with a couple of rashes of bacon I think and could be served for Brunch. I thought the salsa was a little over powering.

*Taken from 'New Idea' magazine*

Ingredients
for the Hotcakes
125g can corn kernels, drained
125g can creamed corn
3 eggs, separated
1/3 cup milk
1 cup Self Raising Flour
1 tbs basil pesto
Fresh Basil leaves to garnish

for the Avocado and Bacon Salsa
3 bacon rashes, finely sliced
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 avocado, finely diced
1/4 cup basil leaves, finely shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Method
To make salsa, heat a large non-stick pan over high heat. Add bacon and cook, stirring, until browned and crisp. Drain on absorbent paper. Cool for 10 minutes. Combine bacon, onion, tomato, avocado and basil in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To make hotcakes, combine corn kernels, creamed corn, egg yolks and milk in a medium bowl. Stir in flour and pesto until combined.

Beat egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric beater until firm peaks form. Fold half the whites into corn mixture, then fold in remaining egg whites. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Lightly spray with cooking oil. Cook three hotcakes at a time. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of corn mixture into pan. Cook for about 2 minutes. When bubbles appear, turn hotcakes over and cook for another 2 minutes, or until lightly browned underneath. Remove and cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve warm hotcakes topped with avocado and bacon salsa. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Serves 4

Roasted Vegetable and Gruyere Pasties

I couldn't find celeriac anywhere so I used some sweet potato instead. I also couldn't find Gruyere cheese (! I know!!) so I used some good old tasty. No jap pumpkin here either, so I used Kent (which I prefer anyway!) I don't own a food processor, so I used my mix master on extra low speed, using dough hooks, to mix the pastry together. But after all that, it was pretty simple really.

*Taken from Karen Martini's 'Where The Heart Is'*

Ingredients
Pastry
3 1/3 cups (500g) plain flour
1/2 tsp table salt
3 tbs olive oil
1 cup (250mls) cold water

Filling
3x2 cm slices jap pumpkin, cut into 1 cm pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces
3 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces
1/2 celeriac, peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces
70ml extra virgin olive oil
salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
5 golden shallots, peeled and sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 leeks, trimmed and finely sliced
1 tsp ground fennel
5 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped
150g grated Gruyere
1 egg, lightly beaten
100g ricotta
1 extra egg, beaten with 1 tbs olive oil
sesame seeds (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 165C. For the pastry, combine flour and salt in a food processor and, with motor running, drizzle in olive oil. Add water and pulse until mixture just comes together. Knead gently on a lightly floured work surface, then wrap in plastic film and place in the fridge for 2 hours.

To make the filling, combine the pumpkin, carrot, potato, parsnip and celeriac, in a large baking dish. Add 50 mls of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 1 hour, turning occasionally. Turn off oven and leave vegetables inside for 1 hour (they should shrink and intensify in flavour).

Heat remaining olive oil in a large saucepan over low-heat. Add shallots, garlic and leek and cook for 8-10 minutes or until soft and caramelised. Stir in ground fennel and parsley. Add roasted vegetables and stir gently to combine. Stir in Gruyere and beaten egg. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Preheat oven to 200C. Divide pastry into 4 pieces, making 2 slightly larger than the others. Roll the 2 larger pieces on a lightly floured surface to 5 mm-thick ovals. Spread vegetable mixture evenly on each, leaving a 2 cm border. Scatter ricotta over vegetables. Roll remaining pastry into 2 thin ovals and cover vegetables. Press and twist edges of pastry to seal and glaze tops by brushing with beaten egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using, and salt and pepper. Place pasties on a large baking tray lined with baking powder. Bake for 25-30 mins or until cooked and golden. Remove from oven and leave for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 2 large pasties.

Serves 6-8 as a light lunch

Tuna Fritters with Whipped Fetta

These would have to be the tastiest tuna fritters I have ever tasted. Repeat. Ever tasted. They were delicious and if Lyndon liked them, well, that is really saying something. I think it is the combination of Tabasco sauce and lemon zest which really 'lift' them. Very simple to make with cheap ingredients. Try them.

Since I don't own a food processor, I used my Bamix with the 'mincer' attachment. I also find it better to place the uncooked fritters in the fridge to 'set' for at least 20 minutes before frying.

*Taken from Karen Martini's 'Where The Heart Is'*

Ingredients

100 g fetta

100 g ricotta

50 ml pouring cream

185 g canned tuna in springwater, drained

2 tsp lemon zest

2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped

3 splashes Tabasco sauce

2 eggs

250 g potatoes, cooked and mashed

3 spring onions, sliced

3 cups (210 g) fresh breadcrumbs

1/2 cup (75 g) plain flour

olive oil, for frying

lemon wedges, to serve

watercress sprigs, to serve (optional)

Method

To make the whipped fetta, place fetta, ricotta and cream in a food processor with 3-4 tbs water and blend until smooth and light.

To make the fritters, place the tuna in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add lemon zest, parsley, Tabasco sauce and 1 egg and process. Add potatoes and process until combined. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in spring onions and 3 tbs of the breadcrumbs. Use your hands to shape mixture into small fritters about 6cm in diameter.

Beat remaining egg. Dip fritters in flour to coat. Dip into beaten egg, then in remaining breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry fritters for 2 minutes on each side or until cooked, then drain on kitchen paper. Serve with whipped fetta, lemon wedges and watercress if desired.

Mango & Lettuce Rolls

A little fidely to make but very tasty...

Ingredients
3 mangoes
1/2 cup Asian-style plum sauce
1 tbs sweet chilli sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
2-3 cups hot water
12 8 21 cm (diameter) rice paper wrappers
2 cups finely shredded iceberg lettuce
250 g cooked smoked skinless chicken breast fillet, sliced thinly
1 small Lebanese cucumber, cut into thin strips

Method
Cut flesh off mangoes and remove skin. Thickly slice flesh. Combine sauces and 2 tbs coriander.

Pour hot water into a large shallow bowl. Immerse one wrapper in the water for 20-30 secondes or until softened. Lay on a clean surface.

Place a small amount of lettuce, chicken, mango, cucumber and coriander in the center of the wrapper. Drizzle with 1/2 tsp dipping sauce. Fold the top section of the wrapper over. Fold in the sides and roll up to enclose filling. Place rolls on a plate, cover loosely with damp paper towel. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Serve with dipping sauce.

Serves 4