Walleye Rice Cakes | Leftover Makeover

One of my “fridge struggles” is finding something to do with leftover food, especially with the common left over items like rice and pasta. The other night I had two items on hand: left over wild ancient grain rice and fresh walleye from a fishing trip with my dad. So off to the kitchen I went and concocted this recipe. It was also a crowd pleaser even to the most difficult to impress (aka. our dad who calls everything we make “hippy food”, loved these cakes).

You can also check out our recipes and several others on BlogHer’s Leftover Makeover Pinterest Board.

Walleye Rice Cakes

• 4-6 fillets of walleye (or really any other fish you have on hand – fresh or frozen will work as well)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/4 cup chopped chives (or finely diced white onion)
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups panko
• 3/4 cup rice (I used ancient grain wild rice which added great color and flavour)
• 1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise
• Oil/butter

If you are using fresh fish instead of leftovers, start by frying your fillets in butter until they are completely cooked (the fish will become flaky). Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix your egg, salt, pepper, mustard, chilli powder, chives, rice, mayo and panko. For the panko – if your mixture seems a bit loose, add more until it starts to bind. If you’ve added too much panko, don’t stress, just add in a bit of mayo. Fold in your walleye (or fish of choice), until it’s mixed thoroughly. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pack your rice cake, gently pat out, coat in panko crumbs and set aside. Do this until you have used up the entire mixture.

Over medium heat, in a pan lightly coated with oil or butter, fry the fish cakes until golden brown (about 5 minutes per side).

To go alongside the fish cakes, I whipped up homemade tartar sauce which was a huge hit and just as easy to make (great for using left over fridge ingredients too – which was exactly what I did). This is another “taste, add, taste, add” recipe, so make sure you taste as you go until you get the desired flavours:

Tartar Sauce

• Juice of 1/2 – 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup finely diced cucumber
• 2 tsp strong horseradish (if using a weaker horseradish, just add a bit more)
• 3/4 cup low fat mayonnaise
• salt and pepper to taste

Hope you guys enjoyed this leftover makeover! If you enjoyed this recipe, let us know and we’ll be sure to make more!

Carlene & Bob

 

“This post is part of the BlogHer Leftover Makeovers editorial series. Our advertisers do not produce or review editorial content. This post is made possible by Bank of America and BlogHer.”