Risotto Cakes

About 1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup Arborio rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade, heated
1/2 cup freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine 1 tablespoon of the oil with the butter in a heavy 2- to 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful not to brown it. Stir in the rice to coat the grains with the fat and onion mixture, and cook about 1 minute longer.

Add 2 cups of the broth to the rice, reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan, and cook exactly 15 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Uncover the pan, add the remaining 1/2 cup broth, the cheese, and salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine with the rice. Allow to cool completely and refrigerate, covered, at least 3 hours or overnight.

When the risotto is cold, form the chilled risotto into patty-shaped cakes with your hands, using approximately 1/2 cup of cooked risotto for each cake. (Make 4 to 6 cakes.) Compress the cakes, as you form them, as much as you can to reduce the possibility of the cakes falling apart during cooking.

Over medium-high heat, heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of the oil in a 10-inch skillet, preferably one with a nonstick surface (if the skillet has an uncoated surface, you'll have to add enough oil to completely cover the bottom). Add the cakes, as many as will fit in the skillet without touching each other, and cook approximately 10 minutes on each side until brown. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6.