Do you always make too much risotto and get bored of eating the leftovers or not quite how to get creative with it? Before you throw your leftover risotto in the bin, check out this recipe for salmon and pea arancini cakes. See your leftovers transformed into risotto patties with a delicious crunchy breadcrumb coating, making them crispy on the outside and soft and gooey in the middle. Not only are these a budget friendly family meal, but they’re the perfect tasty way to reduce your household food waste.
Research conducted by government agency Wrap, found that UK households waste nearly a staggering 7 million tonnes of food. This is the equivalent in monetary terms to £700 per family every year with the total cost at £12.5 billion. I found these figures shocking and very upsetting. When you take into account the food waste from supermarkets, restaurants and other sources this figure comes close to 15 million tonnes of food wasted in the UK every year.
I hate food waste and always make use of leftovers as much as possible. If I can’t use them then if possible I fill up some foil takeaway boxes and pop them in the freezer with a label on top. When I made this simple risotto last week using frozen salmon from the selection available from Iceland, there was a considerable amount left over. I put my thinking cap on and decided to rustle up some arancini cakes, which are risotto balls that are coated in breadcrumbs and fried. Mine are more in line with ‘Jemma portion sizes’ instead of traditional arancini balls, hence why I called them cakes.
Delicious risotto patties made with salmon and peas coated in breadcrumbs, making them crispy on the outside and soft and gooey in the middle.
- 260g/2 Iceland Atlantic Salmon Fillets
- 500g arborio risotto rice
- 1 onion diced
- 125g Mozarella
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 2 litres warm vegetable stock
- 50g frozen peas
- knob of butter
- 2 tbsp fresh chives chopped
- 2 eggs
- plain flour for dusting
- 3 slices of white bread
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Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Bake the salmon on a non-stick baking tray in the oven for 10-15 minutes. When cooked remove the skin and flake into bite-size pieces.
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On a low to medium heat, sweat the diced onion in the butter for 8-10 minutes. Pour in the arborio rice and coat with the butter and onions.
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Next, add a ladleful of warm vegetable stock and stir. When the stock is absorbed, add some more stock. Keep adding more stock until it the rice is cooked.
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When the rice is nearly cooked, sprinkle in the dried oregano, chopped chives, frozen peas, lemon juice, mozzarella cheese, and salmon.
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Season to taste and set aside to cool.
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Beat 2 eggs in a bowl, pour some plain flour into a bowl and whizz up the bread in a food processor to produce breadcrumbs.
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Once cool, shape the risotto into patties and then cover them in the flour, egg and then breadcrumbs.
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Heat some oil in a heavy bottomed pan and shallow fry the arancini patties until golden brown on each side.
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Once cooked, drain the excess oil on some kitchen roll before serving.
With an energetic toddler, having a well-stocked freezer full of meat, fish and vegetables is a must. Having food on standby takes some of the pressure off when I haven’t had a chance to pop out to do the weekly shop yet. Plus, frozen food from Iceland is such high because it’s frozen almost immediately which locks in the freshness. Also, I love that it helps to reduce food waste as well – it’s a win-win!
The recipe instructions include the time to cook the risotto, but if you have that already made then the actual arancini take no time at all to make. These are so much fun to create that I think kids would love to get stuck in making the arancini cakes once the risotto is cool enough.
Do you get stuck for ideas when it comes to reinventing leftovers? What are your thoughts on the issues surrounding food waste?
*This recipe was commissioned by Iceland, but all opinions are my own.
These sound amazing, my husband has made a different version before, but I have never thought to use left over like this. I fancy these now and have all the ingredients in 🙂
“Jemma portion sizes” – I love it 😉 I hate waste too and love finding creative ways to combine fresh with past-their-past foods to make something tasty. And using quality frozen foods help reduce waste too. A great, flexible recipe, Jemma. Bravo.
I’m not a massive salmon fan but these do sound quite delicious, I shall share the recipe with my mum though as she adores salmon x
Being sicilian, I’m a HUGE fan of arancini! Love the ingredients combo, I often make salmon arancini but never tried it with peas too…awesome idea!
These look delicious. A great way to use up leftovers and lovely summer food too
Oh my goodness this sounds right up my street, I do have a love for all things salmon and this sounds like a really interesting way to have it. I must give it a go!
Do you think these would be okay using tinned salmon too?
ohlala I feel that this recipe is going to be a favourite at our home.
I hate having leftovers, and try to keep throw away as minimal as possible. This is an excellent idea for a delicious meal.
These look lush and make an ideal starter or an addition to a salad 😉 x
these salmon patties look amazing, and i like that you used risotto, i would just remove the cheese since i don’t eat cheese. other than that love this recipe. perfect for entertaining and with a salad.
We’ve been looking for ways to add more fish to our meals, and these cute little cakes are wonderful! Butter, lemon, and chives are always a great combination. Paired with a side salad and a glass of wine .. dinner is served!
What a great way to use up leftover risotto. I actually haven’t made risotto in a long time x
It is very simple and delicious recipe. i really enjoy Salmon and this is what I needed for dinner idea. Thanks for sharing
These looks delicious!!!!
I would never have thought of using left overs to make these, i’d have just made a new batch of mix. They look and sound delicious i might have to make a risotto in the next week or so
It saddens me that we waste so much food. I really like the sound of the arancini cakes they sound like a good way of using up leftovers x
These fish cakes look so good and i love it that they’re served with a salad for a healthy meal.
Lovely recipe! We do eat quite a lot of risotto and I often make too much only to make arancini for lunch the next day. I love the addition of salmon, sounds divine. x
not sure why but ive never thought about making salmon cakes. i always cook them straight away but now ill have to try them!
You’re so clever my dear friend, I would have chucked the leftover risotto but now I think for the future we can make a lovely meal out of them. Lovely recipe and looks delicious
I never know what to do with leftovers so love the idea of making these arancini cakes x
Wow. it really looks a yummy recipe and I would love to try this I’m sure my wife would love this too
I’ve never been a fan of salmon, but this looks SO good that I may have to give it another chance! I’ll let you know what I think if I try it 🙂
Louise x
I love Arancini and always thought it would be too difficult to make. I love the option of the cakes as it makes it easier to look past the imperfections. Great tip and idea!
Can’t get enough these days. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being hard), how hard are these to make as I always struggle to make this kind of thing for some reason!
I would say a 3, they’re super easy.