Vegetarian
20130611-veg-mushroom-rice-fritters.jpg

[Photograph: Lauren Rothman]

About the author: Lauren Rothman is a former Serious Eats intern, a freelance catering chef, and an obsessive chronicler of all things culinary. Try the original recipes on her blog, For the Love of Food, and follow her on Twitter @Lochina186.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About This Recipe

Ingredients

  • About 9 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 16 ounces button mushrooms, wiped clean, chopped (about 3 cups)
  • 1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons dry vermouth or sherry
  • 3 cups cooked long-grain white rice, cooled
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream or half and half
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • About 1 teaspoon zest and 1 tablespoon juice and from 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons cup chopped fresh dill

Procedures

  1. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have released most of their liquid and begun to brown, about 12 minutes. Add shallot, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste and cook about 2 minutes more. Add vermouth or sherry and deglaze pan, scraping browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer mushrooms to a large bowl with the cooked rice.

  2. Sprinkle flour over rice mixture and season lightly with salt and pepper. Beat eggs with cream and add to rice mixture. Stir thoroughly to combine.

  3. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Pack rice mixture into a 1/3 cup measure and add to hot skillet to form a cake. You should be able to fit about 6 fritters in the pan; do not crowd pan. Cook fritters undisturbed until browned and crispy on one side, about 6 minutes. Flip fritters and cook and browned on other side, about 5 minutes. Transfer fritters to a paper towel-lined tray to drain.

  4. Remove any stray bits of rice or mushrooms from pan with a slotted spoon and add about 3 tablespoons more oil to cook remaining fritters. As they cook, stir together sour cream, lemon juice and zest, and dill. Top drained fritters with sour cream mixture and serve immediately.