This is what happens when a girl is left on her own – she tries to make every dish healthier than it needs to be.
Actually, it’s a lie! Ideally, I would stuff my face with a number of desserts, the ideas for which have been mulling around in my head, but I’m on a self-imposed sugar exile for two weeks as my sweet cravings were getting a bit out of control.
It’s hard, man. I wish I didn’t have a sweet tooth! So to occupy my brain with something else, I decided to make sushi rolls with quinoa!
My first attempt was a disaster – I wasn’t even able to roll these, but I solved the problem by adding miso paste to the quinoa, which makes it much more pliable. If you love quinoa, you’ll love these, and if you are not a fan of it, you’ll probably think I’m mad 🙂 .
SUSHI
- 6 nori sheets
- 1½ cup quinoa (I used black)
- 3 tbsp white miso paste*, adjust to taste
- 1 flax or chia egg (optional, see NOTES)
FILLING & CONDIMENTS
- Rinse your quinoa. Dissolve miso paste in ½ cup of water. Place rinsed quinoa in a pot with a see-through lid. Add dissolved miso paste and an extra 1 and ¾ cup of water to the pot. Put the lid on and bring quinoa to the boil. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat right down to simmer. Simmer (with a lid on) until all of the water has been absorbed. Once quinoa absorbs all the water (tilt the pot slightly to check if there is any water left in it), turn the heat off and leave the pot (DO NOT LIFT THE LID) on a hot hob for about 5-10 mins so that quinoa finishes cooking in its own steam. Make sure you cool it down completely before making sushi rolls or else nori sheets will become soggy.
- Proceed to make your sushi rolls:
- STEP 1 (If you are new to sushi making, see this recipe for step-by-step photos) Wrap your sushi mat (bamboo mat or folded kitchen towel) in a large piece of cling film. Put the mat down, put a nori sheet on top of the mat, shiny side down. Grab some quinoa with a spoon and spread it evenly on the nori sheet leaving a 1 cm margin at the very top, for sealing. As well as spreading the quinoa evenly, keep on pressing it into the mat with the back of a spoon.
- STEP 2 Place avocado slices, a few pieces of beetroot, carrot and diakon all along the sheet.
- STEP 3 Using the mat, slowly start rolling the roll, squeezing it tightly with both hands as you roll. Go back every now and then to make sure everything is tightly bonded.
- STEP 4 Once you get to the end, dip your finger in water and brush the water on the margin to seal the roll. Finish rolling and set the roll aside. Repeat last 4 steps with the remaining nori sheets.
- Once you’ve rolled all sushi rolls, cut them into 1 cm slices with a sharp knife. Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and a side of tamari (or soy sauce).