Name: Risotto cakes
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: Cooking Method
Ingredients: 400 g carrots peeled, julienned; 1 onion finely chopped; 50 ml fresh chillies 573; 150 g butter; 2 leeks; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 400 g rice arborio; 1 bay leaves; 20 ml fresh thyme; 10 ml fresh tarragon; 5 ml salt; freshly ground black pepper to taste; lemon zest and juice; 1.2-1.5 l stock vegetable; 180 g parmesan cheese grated; 150 g semolina

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Ingredients (16)

400 g	carrots — peeled, julienned
1	onion — finely chopped
50 ml	fresh chillies — 573
150 g	butter
2	leeks
2	garlic — cloves, crushed
400 g	rice — arborio
1	bay leaves
20 ml	fresh thyme
10 ml	fresh tarragon
5 ml	salt
	freshly ground black pepper — to taste
	lemon — zest and juice
1.2-1.5 l	stock — vegetable
180 g	parmesan cheese — grated
150 g	semolina

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Method:

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Place the carrots in a roasting pan and sprinkle the onion on top. Drizzle olive oil over and use your hands to make sure the vegetables are well coated. Spread the vegetables out on a baking sheet and oven roast them until golden brown (about 25 minutes). Chop the carrots finer with a knife or use a food processor.

Heat the butter in a saucepan and sauté the leeks until soft and shiny. Add the garlic, stir-fry it for another minute and then sauté slowly over moderate heat until the leeks start to caramelise. Add the rice and stir through until all the grains are covered with butter.

Add the herbs and black pepper to taste, followed by the carrots and lemon zest and juice. Stir thoroughly. Pour a soup spoonful of hot stock onto the rice and stir through. Simmer until almost all the liquid has been absorbed and stir from time to time before you add the next spoonful. You will know you have added enough stock when the rice is covered by about a centimetre of stock. Repeat the process until almost all the stock has been used and the rice is sticky and soft.

Remove the saucepan from the plate and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Taste and season, if necessary, and then leave it to cool completely. You can now serve the risotto as ordinary risotto by simply sprinkling fresh thyme and tarragon on top and drizzling a bit of olive oil over it.

Form the risotto into 12 equal-sized balls as soon as it has cooled completely and roll the balls in the semolina. Press the balls slightly flat and then fry them in olive oil until golden brown on both sides. Serve with grilled fish.

Words and image: Home magazine.

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