Many times in the past I have made Risotto cakes, but only using a recipe from the Rebar cookbook for corn risotto cakes. I finally decided it was time to come up with my own style of cake and of course to veganize it, and that I did. This will also be the first recipe where I use nutritional yeast flakes as a strong overcast in the recipe. The result: Aromatic, crispy outside, and mouthwatering interior.

Serves 5-6 (makes 7 cakes)

What you need:

7 cups of stock (I made up a quick stock using the celery tops from my garden a whole corn cob–kernels cut off then included in the stock, fresh sage, fresh thyme, ground black pepper, crushed garlic, greens of 2 leeks, added this to 9 cups of water boiled it down for 2 hours strained out the solids seasoned to taste and voila).

1.5 TBL Vegan margarine

1.5 TBL Olive oil

The white of 1 large leek finely chopped

1/2 a red sweet pepper

1/2 a yellow sweet pepper

1/2 a green pepper

3 cloves garlic minced

2 cups of arborio rice

1 cup of white wine

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 cup of nutritional yeast flakes

1-2 cups of fine white corn meal (yellow will do but I prefer white)

2-3 TBL corn oil

The process:

1. In a medium-large sauce pot heat olive oil and margarine over medium heat then add your leek and garlic, fry for about 3-5 minutes until it begins to turn translucent, now throw in your sweet peppers and continue frying for 2-3 minutes.
2. Now add your uncooked rice and stir until coated then fry for 3-5 minutes. add salt, and smoked paprika again stirring to coat, then mix in your 1 cup of white wine. Continue stirring and cooking until all the white wine is absorbed into the rice.
3. Start adding your warm stock 1 cup at a time while continually stirring, be sure to only add your next cup of stock once the first cup is absorbed. (Make sure you keep stirring to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the sauce pot).
4. You are going to keep adding stock until your rice tests to be soft with a slight bite at this point it is done. (after you’ve added 3 full cups of stock you might want to beginning adding your stock 1/2 a cup a a time to make sure it will absorb it all).
5. Once the rice tests done remove from heat and stir in your nutritional yeast flakes. Spoon the mixture into a shallow casserole dish and transfer to a rack to allow to cool for 20-30 minutes.
6. 

   I served these with field greens and sliced watermelon radish from this weeks CSA.

   Now sprinkle some corn meal on a clean cutting board and pour the rest into a wide mouth bowl.

7. To make the cakes once the rice mixture is cool enough to handle pack a 1 cup measuring cup tight with the rice mixture and while holding the measuring cup almost completely upside down use a butter knife to gently slice around the edges of the cup to release the cake onto the corn meal dusted cutting board. Now sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with additional corn meal. Continue making your cakes until you run out of the mixture.
8. In a medium to large skillet warm 2-3 TBL of corn oil until it just spatters when splashed with corn meal, now using a spatula transfer 1 cake to the pan flat side down, fry for 2 minutes then using 2 spatulas flip to cook the other flat side. Once both flats are cooked you are going to want to using 2 spatulas carefully flip the cake onto the rounded side and roll back and forth for about 2-3 minutes until it is evenly cooked. Transfer to a paper towel and serve within 10 minutes.
9. You don’t have to fry them all right away they will keep in the fridge as cakes for up-to a week.

Enjoy.