Medium-grain brown rice has a toothsome texture and nutty flavor that complement creamy, earthy goat cheese in these elegant cakes. Serve over salad greens as a main course.

Makes 6 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 40 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

3/4 cup medium-grain brown rice
1 1/2 cups water
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
6 medium shallots, chopped
2 medium carrots, shredded using the large holes of a box grater
1/2 cup toasted pecans (see Tip)
3 ounces goat cheese
1 large egg white
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Bring rice and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer at the lowest bubble until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, 30 to 50 minutes (see Test Kitchen Note). Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; cook, stirring often, until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add carrots, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until softened and the shallots are lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Preheat oven to 400°F.
4. Transfer the cooked vegetables and rice to a large food processor. Add pecans, goat cheese, egg white, thyme, salt and pepper. Pulse until well blended but still a little coarse. Scrape into a large bowl. With wet hands, form the mixture into six 3-inch patties (about 1/2 cup each).
5. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle registers at least 160°F, 10 to 15 minutes.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 250 calories; 14 g fat (3 g sat, 7 g mono); 7 mg cholesterol; 26 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 3 g fiber; 274 mg sodium; 250 mg potassium.
2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 1/2 fat

TIP: Tip: Spread pecans on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F, stirring once, until fragrant, 7 to 9 minutes.

Test Kitchen Note: Perfectly cooked rice is not simple. In fact, it’s something that we struggle with occasionally in the Test Kitchen. To have the most success cooking whole-grain rice, we recommend using a pan with a tight-fitting lid, cooking on your coolest (or simmer) burner and making sure the rice is simmering at the “lowest bubble.” While testing the recipes that use less than 1 cup of dry rice, we found that the cooking time varied greatly depending on what stove we used. Although whole-grain rice usually requires 50 minutes of cooking, we found smaller volumes of rice were sometimes done in as little as 30 minutes (and burned at 50 minutes). So, when cooking a small batch of rice, start checking it after 30 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Serve cold or reheat.

This was a fabulous recipe--especially if you have leftover rice. It was also great reheated the next day. I used a combination of long grain black wild rice with brown rice, which I think gave it a great texture. I also substituted herbed goat cheese for regular goat cheese. Definitely make again.

Kaija, Westford, VT

I just received my first issue of Eating Well and think it is a terrific magazine with wonderful recipes. I'm going to order gift subscriptions for my two daughters. Thanks.

Jeanne Carmichael, Grand Junction, CO

This recipe ended up not being what I expected, more of a garden-burger type of item, but it was still tasty. My vegetarian friends at work enjoyed it a lot.

Cheryl, Mountlake Terrace, WA

Recently subscribed and got my first magazine. This was the first recipe I tried from the magazine because I had some leftover brown rice and just purchased some fresh chevre from a local CSA. These are delicious!! I had trouble getting my patties to hold together though. Don't know why, but they still tasted wonderful!

Chef-Boy-I-Be Illinois, Central, IL

Made these again last night and added some dry breadcrumbs to bind the mixture better and they held together and browned beautifully! This is a really great use for leftover brown rice, in fact I make extra just so there is some left for this!

Jake, Cornfields, IL

Rather than pulse ALL the rice with the cheese, I left a little out and added it in when shaping the patties, just to give a little textural and visual interest. The patties held together quite well, though mine certainly didn't look like the photo; mine were flatter and darker color. My vegetarian friend loved them and took the left-overs home, but I found them to be rather bland for my taste. If I make them again, I'll add herbs and perhaps a pinch of cayenne or lemon zest for a little sparkle.

Stephanie, Friday Harbor, WA

My family thought this was fabulous. I used sweet onion instead of shallots, and 1 tsp fresh thyme instead of the dried. It held together great, perhaps because the rice cooked perfectly using the rice cooker. My only grudge is that there was a lot of clean-up after dinner. Next time I might try mashing everything together without the food processor.

Kristine, Honolulu, HI

These cakes are awesome! The pecans mingle nicely with the goat cheese and rice. And the house smells wonderful after popping them out of the oven -- a bonus!

Raven, Everett, WA