This is another idea from Nigella’s latest cook book “Kitchen”. You can win a copy by filling in this questionnaire.
This recipe caught my eye by being a little bit different but still firmly in the “safe” category. This is something I could make and know it would work out fine.
To be honest I thought the risotto was good but not amazing – what I really loved though was the leftovers! These risotto cakes were the first I had ever made, and wow! I’ll always be making extras now…
I’m not going to post the recipe for bolognese risotto here, because I imagine everyone already has their favourite recipe for bolognese sauce and this recipe wasn’t my favourite. (If you need inspiration try this simple bolognese sauce or this better bolognese sauce.)
All you need is your favourite bolognese sauce and some extra stock, beef in my case veal in Nigella’s.
Add the risotto rice to the bolognese sauce. As the sauce dries out add a ladle more of hot stock. Repeat, stirring occasionally until your rice is cooked.
To make the risotto cakes leave the leftover risotto in the fridge over night. Mould handfuls of the risotto into balls and flatten them into disks. If you have time pop them back into the fridge for 30 minutes (if not try not to warm them up too much in your hands). Preheat your oven to around 200oC. Under a medium heat on the hob, fry the cakes until starting to brown, lift them unto a baking sheet and pop in the oven for 10 minutes or until they are cooked sufficiently all the way through.
Perfect. While I may not make this bolognese risotto often, it is a great way to make use of leftover bolognese sauce as you need way less than the typical pasta version. And if you haven’t tried risotto cakes – you must!