Stuffed, Wrapped and Shaped Rice
Cooking Skills: Rice 2
Chapter 8 · Stuffed, Wrapped and Shaped Rice
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Rice can be more than a bed under a stew. Cooked rice makes a filling for vegetables and leaves, a binder for patties, and the centre of an arancino. Each of these is a way to turn a handful of leftovers into a meal.
| Dish | Rice used | Held together by |
|---|---|---|
| Stuffed peppers | Cooked rice mixed with a cooked filling | The pepper itself |
| Cabbage or vine-leaf rolls | Cooked rice (or raw, in the traditional version) | The leaf, packed tight in a pan |
| Arancini | Cold risotto | Egg, cheese and a breadcrumb coat |
| Rice patties | Cold cooked rice | Egg and flour |
Cold, day-old rice is firmer and holds a shape much better than fresh rice, which is why leftovers work so well here. The same safety rules apply: use rice that was cooled quickly and kept in the fridge for no more than 24 hours.
Try it
Stuffed peppers
A pepper is a ready-made bowl. The filling is a savoury rice and mince mixture, finished with a little cheese.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 2 large peppers (any colour), halved lengthways and deseeded
- 120 g cooked rice, cooled and from the fridge (about 45 g dry)
- 1 tsp oil
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 120 g lean beef or lamb mince (or 100 g cooked lentils for a vegetarian version)
- 150 ml tomato passata
- 1 tsp dried oregano or mixed herbs
- 30 g feta or mozzarella, crumbled
- Heat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C conventional, gas 6). Put the pepper halves cut side up in a baking dish and roast for 10 minutes.
- Heat the oil and fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the mince (or lentils) and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the mince is browned all through with no pink.
- Stir in the passata, herbs and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 5 minutes, then mix with the rice.
- Spoon the filling into the peppers, scatter the cheese on top and pour 4 tablespoons of water into the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 minutes more, until the peppers are soft and the filling is steaming hot.
Cabbage or vine-leaf rolls
Wrapping a rice filling in leaves is a tradition from Greece and Turkey to Eastern Europe. Cabbage leaves are easier to find than vine leaves.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 8 large savoy cabbage leaves (or 12 jarred vine leaves, rinsed)
- 100 g cooked rice, cooled
- ½ small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped mint and parsley
- 1 tbsp raisins or chopped dried apricots
- 1 tbsp toasted pine nuts or flaked almonds
- 1 lemon, juice only
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 150 ml hot vegetable stock
- Cut out the thick rib from the base of each cabbage leaf. Boil the leaves for 3 minutes until pliable, drain and pat dry. (Vine leaves from a jar only need rinsing.)
- Mix the rice, onion, herbs, fruit, nuts, half the lemon juice and the oil.
- Put about 2 tablespoons of filling near the base of each leaf. Fold in the sides and roll up tightly like a small parcel.
- Pack the rolls seam side down in a snug pan. Pour over the stock and the rest of the lemon juice, put a small plate on top to keep them in place, cover and simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with yoghurt.
Baked arancini
Arancini are balls of cold risotto, with a piece of melting cheese in the middle, coated in breadcrumbs. They taste best when the risotto is cold and firm, which makes this a good use for leftovers from Cooking Skills: Rice 1, chapter 7.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 250 g cold leftover risotto, from the fridge (less than 24 hours old)
- 1 medium egg, beaten (half in the rice, half for coating)
- 20 g parmesan, finely grated
- 30 g mozzarella, cut into 6 small cubes
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 4 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp oil, for brushing
- Heat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional, gas 7) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Mix the cold risotto with half the beaten egg and the parmesan. Divide into 6.
- Flatten each portion in your palm, put a cube of mozzarella in the middle and close the rice round it into a ball.
- Roll each ball in flour, then the remaining egg, then breadcrumbs. Place on the tray, brush lightly with oil.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until golden and crisp. Cut one open: the middle must be steaming hot and the mozzarella melted.
Rice patties from leftovers
The beaten egg and a little flour bind cold rice into patties that fry crisp outside and soft inside. Good with a salad or a fried egg.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 200 g cold cooked rice, from the fridge (less than 24 hours old)
- 1 medium egg
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- 50 g courgette, grated and squeezed dry
- 30 g cheddar or parmesan, grated
- 3 tbsp plain flour or breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp chopped herbs
- 2 tsp oil, for frying
- 3 tbsp natural yoghurt, to serve
- Mix everything except the oil and yoghurt in a bowl, pressing the rice together with a fork. It should hold when squeezed. Add a little more flour if it is too wet.
- Shape into 6 patties about 1.5 cm thick with wet hands.
- Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the patties for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden and hot through the middle.
- Serve with the yoghurt.
Experiments
Raw or cooked rice in the filling
How do the traditional versions work?
- Fill a pepper half with the same filling, but swap the cooked rice for 20 g of raw rice and add 80 ml of extra stock to the dish.
- Cover tightly and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the rice is tender. Compare with the cooked-rice version.
Look for: Raw rice cooks in the filling's juices and tastes of them, but it takes much longer and needs enough liquid. Cooked rice is quicker and more predictable.
Baked or fried arancini
Is frying worth it?
- Make six arancini. Bake three. Fry three carefully, as in the tip box.
- Compare the crispness, greasiness and flavour.
Look for: Fried arancini are crisper and richer, baked ones are lighter and easier. Is the difference big enough to justify the oil?
How much binder
What holds a patty together?
- Make three small batches of patties: one with the egg and flour, one with only the egg, and one with neither.
- Fry them the same way and see which hold together.
Look for: Without egg the patties crumble, without flour they are softer. The egg does most of the work.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuffed peppers | ||||
| Cabbage or vine-leaf rolls | ||||
| Baked arancini | ||||
| Rice patties | ||||
| Raw vs cooked rice filling | ||||
| Baked vs fried arancini | ||||
| Binder amounts |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Peppers collapse | Roasted too long first | Roast for 10 minutes only, and use sturdy peppers |
| Filling is dry | No sauce in the mix | Add more passata or a splash of stock |
| Rolls fall apart | Rolled loosely or not packed tight | Roll firmly; pack them snugly with the seam down |
| Arancini burst | Rice too warm, or cheese poking out | Use cold rice and seal the cheese fully |
| Patties crumble | Too little binder, or flipped too soon | Add egg or flour; fry until set before turning |
| Raw rice filling still hard | Not enough liquid or time | Add stock, re-cover and bake longer |
- I can stuff and bake peppers.
- I can roll leaves around a filling.
- I can shape and coat arancini, baked or fried.
- I can turn leftover rice into patties.
- I know how old leftover rice may be and why.