Baked Rice and Zucchini Cakes

Don't you just love happy food accidents, successfully thrown together bits of this and that and necessity producing tasty inventions? On the Friday before Labor Day I was still unpacking from our Maine vacation, getting laundry done so we could go away for the long weekend and baking Brian's birthday cake. He was going to be working late and we needed to hit the road so I told him I'd make him dinner and bring it with us. I knew I had some leftover ground beef and several ideas for quick tasty dinners.

Unfortunately, when I unwrapped the beef, it looked and smelled a bit off. Into the garbage it went and now it was too late and I was too wrapped up in things to go get anything else. There wasn't much in the fridge considering all our comings and goings lately but I did find a nice looking zucchini. Rice is a pantry staple in our house (jasmine is my favorite) and I usually have onions and garlic in a basket.

So I sauteed the aromatics with the zucchini, added rice and cooked it until it was tender. It wasn't risotto since I hadn't used short grain rice but I did toss in some Parmesan cheese. The flavor was great but the texture was a little wet so I decided to pour the whole thing into two mini spring-form pans, top each with a bit more Parmesan and bake them in the oven. I wasn't sure how long to cook them but I knew I had about 30 minutes before Brian would be pulling up with the car and we'd be off. So, after 30 minutes I took them out of the oven, wrapped them in foil and we hit the road.

When we got to our house out east I unwrapped and un-molded the cakes and we sat down to have a taste. Wow! Flavorful, slightly crispy and delicious. So good in fact that when we got back after the long weekend, I made them again...and again. Enjoy!

Ingredients
3/4 Cup rice (your choice)
1 Onion, peeled and diced
1 Clove, garlic, peeled and minced
1 Zucchini, peeled and diced
2 Cups water or chicken stock
1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a pot, saute the onion and garlic on low heat until translucent. Add the zucchini and continue cooking for a few minutes on medium heat until the zucchini softens. Stir in the rice until all the grains are coated and raise the heat to high. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for approximately 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Season to taste and stir in all but two tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese.

Spray two mini spring-form pans with non-stick cooking spray and add half the rice mixture to each one. Top each with the remaining Parmesan cheese and bake in a 400 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown. Allow the pans to cool slightly, run a knife along the edges and carefully un-mold the rice cakes. Makes two servings.