Quinoa Sushi

Sushi might be my favorite food ever. I am in love with the umami flavor of the seaweed, the rich texture of the avocado, the saltiness of the soy sauce and the crunchy sesame seeds, which combined with some sticky white rice makes one hells of a yummy roll of sushi.

However, soy sauce isn’t very good for you due to its super crazy high salt content, and that the sticky white rice is so sweet thanks to the tons of sugar that get mixed through it. And then I haven’t even talked about the lack of fibers from the white rice, or the deep fried sushi…

So, I came up with this super simple quinoa sushi recipe. Basically it is fairly simple: just replace your sushi rice with quinoa. However, I also decided not to add any soy sauce, or sugar whatsoever, and they still turned out great, and boyfriend approved, yay!

This recipe is so simple and so delicious, and it is perfect as light lunch or to take with you to work for a nice afternoon snack.
Quinoa sushi
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Yield: one sushi roll (6 to 8 pieces)

Ingredients
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
half an avocado
a piece of cucumber (preferably the length of your nori sheet)
one spring onion (preferably the length of your nori sheet)
half a lime
1 nori sheet
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

Instructions
1. Cook the quinoa in water for about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, slice the avocado and cucumber in long strips.
3. Drain the quinoa of the water and let sit for another 5 minutes or so to cool off a little.
4. Press the lime and sprinkle half of the lime juice over the cooked quinoa. Mix well. You won’t need the rest of the lime juice, so use it for e.g. some lime infused water!
5. Cut off the white part of the spring onion (use this to regrow it!), but make sure it is still long enough to match the length of the nori sheet.
6. Take a nori sheet and place it on a bamboo rolling mat with the shine side down.
7. Take the quinoa, which is now supposed to be still warm but not hot, and distribute it evenly over the lower 3/4 of the nori sheet. Press it gently.
8. Along the centre of the rice, place some cucumber and avocado strips, and add the spring onion.
9. Now, carefully roll the sushi roll with the help of the bamboo mat.
10. When you’re come to the part where there is no rice anymore, “glue” the nori sheet together with a little water.
11. Slice in 6 to 8 pieces, sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!