Using leftover risotto to make fritters

What to do with leftover mushroom risotto and porcini …


I originally googled leftover risotto with the aim of finding out how long I could store the leftovers for, could it be microwaved or frozen? 


I ended up finding out two things – (1) that Italians consider left over risotto a big no no and (2) deep fried or fried leftover risotto is a win.


The Chinese use leftover rice to make fried rice and the Italians use leftover risotto to make fried fritters or deep fried balls aka arancini. So in summary – to make any sort of leftover rice awesome – fry it!


I used my leftover mushroom risotto to make fritters and I found them so good that I will make extra risotto in the future so that I can make these delicious fritters the next day.


Some recipes will tell you to mix the leftover risotto with egg as a binder but I decided to try cooking the risotto as is to see how it would turn out. I don’t think that using eggs are necessary as the cooked risotto overnight had turned starchy and glutinous, and was firm and stuck together so it didn’t need any additional binding agent. You can also cover the risotto with some breadcrumbs before frying but again I don’t think this is necessary.


I heated a frying pan with some olive oil and butter, formed the leftover risotto into patties and fried them until they were heated through and had a golden brown crust. I loved the crispy exterior, it reminded me of a hash brown, and I had put in quite a bit of parmesan into the risotto which along with the use of butter to cook it produced a buttery and cheesy crust which was delicious. The exterior was crispy but inside the risotto was soft and creamy, reminiscent of its original state.

I think that I actually prefer leftover mushroom risotto fritters to the real thing.