Leftover Rice Magic

I have done an excellent job this month sticking to my pantry and freezer challenge, for the most part.  I’ve been really concentrating more on using leftovers and trying to use up some of the older things that are stashed in the freezer.  I’ve only really done a major grocery shop once this month, but have made a few trips in between for a miscellaneous item or two.

One of the ways I’m staying on top of leftovers is by cleaning out the fridge about every three days or so.  It refreshes my mind of what’s in the fridge and needs to be used, and has really helped me be more frugal.  One of these things that I kept kicking around was a carton of leftover basmati rice.  Rice is one of those things… what does one do with the leftovers?  You can heat them up and eat again as rice… use it in fried rice, or a favorite of mine is to use the rice in burritos with some black beans, salsa and sour cream.  But this time, I had basmati rice, which doesn’t work as well for me on burritos, and the kids don’t like fried rice.  In fact, they don’t really care much for rice in general.

I turned to an old friend, Mark Bittman, and his book How To Cook Everything Vegetarian, where I found a recipe for Parmesan Rice Cakes.  The recipe was for a griddlecake, and while I didn’t have any Parmesan on hand, I did have cheddar cheese, and I thought that would be very good as well.  So I took a gamble and made these rice cakes to accompany our dinner of leftover ham and vegetables.  We served them simply topped with butter, and in a nutshell, they were fabulous!  What an excellent way to use leftover rice up!  We all enjoyed the pancakes immensely, although Andy and I thought that a small dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of scallions or chives would have had us fighting over the remaining few pancakes.  Oh wait, there weren’t any remaining pancakes!

These rice cakes were so good, Andy actually requested them the next day.  I just laughed and told him that I’d have to cook fresh rice to make leftover rice, and well, that just seemed silly.  We liked the cheddar cheese in them, but I am certain that the Parmesan would be great as well- and in that case, I could see serving these up with a tiny bit of marinara sauce as well.  Overall, these were a crowd pleaser, the kids ate them, we devoured them, and I have been trying to work rice back into the menu specifically so that I can have leftovers to make these again.  This time though, I think we’ll be trying out brown rice to see how that works.

Cheesy Rice Cakes

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk, half-and-half, or cream, plus more as needed

1 1/2 cups cooked white or brown rice

1/2 cup freshly grated cheese (I used cheddar, Parmesan is called for in the book)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Salt and cayenne to taste

1/4 cup neutral oil or 4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup minced parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Heat a heavy skillet or griddle to a temperature of about 375ºF.

Whisk the eggs and milk together in a medium bowl until well-combined.  Whisk in the rice and cheese.  Switch to a spoon, add the flour and baking powder, sprinkle with just a little salt and cayenne to taste.  Add enough extra milk to make a smooth, medium thick batter.

When a drop of water skips across the skillet or griddle before evaporating, it’s ready.  Put a little oil or butter in the pan and let it bubble.  Using a large spoon, scoop up a bit of batter and put it in the pan.  It should spread about 3 inches.  Cook as many griddlecakes at once as will fit comfortably, turning them after a couple of minutes, when they are brown.  Total cooking time will run between 5 and 8 minutes.  Serve immediately, ideally straight from the pan, sprinkled with parsley if you like.