Hungry Happenings

Football Shaped Prosciutto and Asiago Rice Cakes

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Gear up for the Super Bowl and score a touchdown with your guests with these Football Shaped Prosciutto and Asiago Rice Cakes. I guarantee not one of these appetizers will be left on the plate after the first quarter.

Gear up for the Super Bowl and score a touchdown with your guests with these Football Shaped Prosciutto and Asiago Rice Cakes. I guarantee not one of these appetizers will be left on the plate after the first quarter.

The Super Bowl is just around the corner and I know a lot of you are planning parties or will be bringing a dish to a friend’s party.

Coming up with clever food that is befitting this occasion has been a challenge for me because there are already so many clever football themed recipes. Being Super Bowl parties are as much about eating as they are about watching the game, people have gotten very creative with the food they serve.

I recently brain stormed recipe ideas then did some Internet searches only to find most of what I came up with had already been done.

My first recipe idea involved creating a bread bowl and filling it with a cheesy bacon dip. I found a recipe for chili in a football shaped bread bowl. I’m not sure how you’d keep the chili hot, but this bread bowl does look amazing.

For several holidays I’ve created cleverly shaped cheese balls, but knew I had already seen lots of football shaped cheese balls. Cheese balls are so versatile; the one pictured above is particularly nice. I really got excited about making a hot taco dip into a football field, but you guessed it, this Field of Guacamole is just one of many football field appetizers out there.

I also found something that I would never have thought to make and think it is so impressive I wanted to share it with you. You have to check out this Super Bowl snack stadium, Isn’t it cool?

Well, after a week of thinking (even having dreams about it) I finally came up with a few new Super Bowl recipe ideas. The other night I had some rice left over from dinner and remembered a wonderful appetizer recipe that I had made a while back, Prosciutto and Asiago Rice Cakes served with Pesto Aoli.

I wasn’t sure it would work, but I mixed up the ingredients and pressed the mixture into a football shaped cookie cutter, pan fried a few, and piped on some mayonnaise laces. I put a few on a plate along with the pesto aoli and served them to my husband. He said “Yum, I could definitely see people eating these at a Super Bowl party.”  That was good enough for me.

Prosciutto and Asiago Rice Cake Footballs (makes about 20 footballs)

     recipe adapted from the USA Rice Federation

Ingredients:

1/3 cup mayonnaise, plus 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
3 cups cooked medium grain white rice (sticky rice is best)
1 cup shredded aged Asiago cheese
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, finely chopped* 
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed

*NOTE: You will notice that some of the footballs pictured above look more spotted with Prosciutto than others. After I fried the first batch, I put the rest of the rice mixture in the food processor and pulsed it until the Prosciutto was really fine. Of course the rice also got chopped which made the cakes a little more dense. So, just be sure to chop your Prosciutto really fine if you don’t want your footballs to have spots.

Supplies needed:

small bowl
mixing bowl
baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (non-stick works great) or a Silpat
football shaped cookie cutter
large non-stick skillet

paper towels
piping bag fitted with a small round tip (or a zip top bag)

Instructions:

Stir together the mayonnaise and pesto in a small bowl. Cover and keep refrigerated until you are ready to serve your rice cakes.

In a mixing bowl combine the rice, Asiago cheese, Prosciutto, eggs, black pepper, and salt. Stir until well mixed.

Set your football shaped cookie cutter on a baking sheet lined with tin foil or a Silpat. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the rice mixture into the cookie cutter.

Press down to compact it. My cookie cutter is only about 1/3″ deep so I filled it up completely. Most cutters are an inch deep, so just fill it up part way.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat for about four minutes.

Place 5 or 6 footballs in the skillet and allow them to brown for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Remove and set on a paper towel to drain the excess oil. Repeat, adding more oil as needed.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise into a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (#4, 5 or 6) or fill a small zip top bag and snip off the tip of the bag.

Pipe mayonnaise to create the laces of the football, as well as, the  bands on either side of the football, if desired.

Serve with pesto aoli. You can serve these rice cakes either hot or cold.

If you want more tailgating or homegating party ideas for the college football season,
be sure to check out my Football Party Food ideas.

Your party guests will cheer when you serve them some of these amazing Super Bowl Recipes. Each of these fun party food ideas will score big during any football themed event.

Thanks for sharing!

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Comments

  4. Very Cute idea. I will have to fry up some rice too when I have leftover 🙂 When you pulsed the rice and it was chopped did it change the texture much when frying? Were they more hard/crunchy on outside? Just wondering…

    Reply

    • Thanks Big Momma, when I pulsed the mixture and fried it, the most apparent difference I notice was the cakes were a bit more dense as the mixture was now packed together more tightly. I can't say it was bad, I just liked the more delicate cakes with the whole rice. Both cakes fried up well, but the one that was in the food processor did brown more evenly as there was more surface area touching the pan. I had thought about just putting the Prosciutto in the food processor to get it finely chopped, but was worried I'd end up with a big ball of meat. Maybe putting the meat and cheese in the food processor would work well.

      Reply

  7. These caught my eye on TGIF! They look fantastic and perfect for both adults and kids. I pinned them to try sometime soon.

    Aimee @teachlovegrow.blogspot.com

    Reply

  13. oh my goodness if I bring this instead of my same old dip I will be the hit of the party!! thanks.
    I am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can.

    Reply

  17. These look great! Sometimes when I try to make things like this they fall apart half way through the process. Any suggestions to ensure that this doesn't happen? maybe refrigerating before pan frying? or having everything at room temperature? I want them to look as good as yours!

    Reply

    • Thanks Caitlin. I made sure I pressed the rice mixture together really well in the football cookie cutter. Then I did let them sit for a while as I made all of the footballs. I didn't have any trouble with them falling apart. Just be sure to wait 2-3 minutes for the first side to brown. That will help form a crust which will hold them together. Also, don't overcrowd your pan. I left plenty of room to get my spatula/turner into the pan and under each football. You could certainly refrigerate them for a while. I think that would help too. Good luck. I hope they turn out perfectly for you.

      Reply

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