Sushi Rolls

I love sushi rolls, and since being gluten intolerant, eating sushi out and about can be a minefield.

Even though it looks like rice, fish and vegetables should be safe and you just need to avoid the soy sauce, there are a few things to watch out for.



These are the ones I'm wary of:
* Soy sauce (you could take your own Tamari instead if you plan ahead)
* Crab sticks, which contain wheat
* Mayonnaise, used to season some types of rolls, like California rolls. Some mayos contains gluten. When in doubt I always avoid it
*Seasoning used for rice. In some restaurants it contains soy sauce in addition to rice vinegar, sugar and salt. I recommend asking when ordering


To ensure I could enjoy sushi rolls whenever I wanted, I was pondering how difficult it would be to make my own ...

As if by magic, I found an offer at my local Sainsbury's on all Yutaka sushi making ingredients, and all the packets have instructions, so this was my chance!
I bought a sushi bamboo mat, sushi rice, sushi nori (seaweed sheets to roll your sushi in), rice vinegar and sesame seeds.

In really good sushi, it is the quality of the fish that makes the difference. Sushi grade fish has to have a parasite destruction guarantee. According to European Union regulations, freezing fish at −20°C (−4°F) for 24 hours kills parasites. If you are planning to use raw fish, always check with your supplier that it is safe to eat.

 To make my life easier and avoid poisoning myself i decided to make mine with smoked salmon. Safety first!

Ingredients (this makes a generous portion for 2, I get 4 rolls that can be cut into 6 pieces each once you discard the ends)
For the rice: 250 gr sushi rice, 330 ml water
For the rice seasoning: 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt
For the roll: Nori sheets (roasted seaweed), Sesame seeds
For the filling: Smoked salmon, avocado, cucumber, Chives (or you could substitute the salmon for roasted red peppers)

How to cook the rice
Put 250gr of rice into a bowl and wash with cold water. Repeat 3 or 4 times and then drain the rice with a sieve.
Add 330mls of water and the washed rice to a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. Turn off the heat and leave to stand for 25-30 minutes. Do not open the lid! I like to put it in the fridge for another 30 minutes, so that it is cold and easier to handle.

How to season the rice 
Mix the vinegar, sugar and salt first and once well combined mix it with the rice.


How to make the rolls
Place a sheet of nori onto a bamboo rolling mat
Spread a thin layer of cooked and seasoned rice as evenly as possible over the nori, leaving a 1cm gap at the top and the bottom so that you can seal the roll
Place the filling of your choice in a line about 5cm from the front of the nori, be careful not to use too much filling as it will be difficult to roll
Begin rolling the nori carefully and evenly around the filling, using the mat to help shape it, rolling away from you and pressing firmly. Pull the bamboo mat away from you, and make sure to keep rolling the nori around itself (there are some very good drawings on the back of the pack if you use Yakarta nori).
Once the roll is complete, press down firmly on the mat to compress the roll slightly, so that it keeps its shape
Cut the roll into evenly sized pieces and serve with tamari sauce, wasabi and sushi ginger

Inside out sushi rolls
These look very pretty with the rice on the outside and some sesame seeds (or even some fish roe to decorate the outside). It is a little bit more fiddly but not too hard.
Start as before with the sheet of nori on the bamboo mat and spread the rice thinly. Now sprinkle sesame seeds on top (or fish roe), as many or as little as you like.
Now comes the tricky bit: we cover the rice side with cling film and as quickly as possible and we turn it upside down, being careful to keep it all together.
It needs to go back on the sushi mat, with the cling film on top of the mat (then rice, then nori sheet).
It is now that we add the filling as before, but this time on top of the nori.
We'll need to cut off the top third of the nori sheet so that we get a nice roll, and it is rolled exactly like the other rolls with the help of the mat. In this case you have to be careful not to roll the cling film inside the roll, so pull it out gently as you roll.
It does look more complicated than it is, but once you watch a couple of you tube videos it is actually not difficult at all.
I'd say it's important to press the rice tightly when spreading it onto the nori sheet, as it will be easier to roll and the finished shape will be better too.

It is quite fun, and I've already made rolls a few times. My next sushi challenge will be to experiment with different fillings ;)
Enjoy!

Potato salad with vinagrette - naturally gluten free

Now that the weather is lovely, my favourite lunch is a salad, and the other day I made some potato salad with vinagrette.

This is a quick lunch, boiling the potatoes is probably the longest process here.
I boil them in the microwave cut in slices so that it takes even less time, but you can boil them in your preferred way.

The vinagrette is made in two parts:
* The solids: shredded lettuce, shredded boiled egg, roughly chopped olives
* The liquids: three parts of olive oil to one of vinegar (I use cider vinegar), salt and freshly grounded black pepper to taste
Mix all together, pour over the potatoes and enjoy!

Spanish omelette naturally Gluten Free

I love Spanish omelette!

I remember as a child, whenever I went on a day out with my scouts group, my dad would get up early to make my lunch for the day.

It was generally a bread roll with something delicious inside, and when I got really lucky he made some Spanish omelette the night before for dinner, and kept some for my roll.

A bit of time has passed since then, and I've now learned to make it myself, but it always has so many good memories attached to it, it's always great for get togethers.

 

I cooked it recently for my sister, but of course I had to try it for quality control, very very nice.

So, if you fancy making your own, here is how to:

 

Ingredients

2 medium to large potatoes (aprox 330gr) cut in pieces (think of a plumpy 50p coin)

1 onion (aprox 250gr), roughly chopped

4 eggs, beaten

salt to taste

plenty of olive oil

Tools

A very new non stick 20 cm pan, I keep one exclusively for omelettes, otherwise it will stick and not come out in one piece

A 22 cm plate aprox to turn the omelette

Wooden spoon

Instructions

The trick is to make the onion and potatoes very slowly in the olive oil so that they become as soft as butter. It seems like it uses a lot of oil, but once cooked, the potatoes are drained of it, so it is not that much in the end.

Put the potatoes and onion in a large pan with plenty of olive oil. They don't need to be completely covered, but you need to see a little bit peeping at the top.

I used 150 ml aprox, and had left around 100ml when I drained them later.

Leave to cook slowly for aprox 30 mins or until the potatoes are so soft that you can easily break one with a wooden spoon. Then drain well the potatoes and onion and place in a clean bowl.

Add here the beaten eggs too and add salt to taste.

Heat your non-stick pan and when hot add the contents of the bowl.

It can be cooked at high heat, but feel free to keep on medium too, it'll just take a little bit longer.

Stir with the wooden spoon all the ingredients until the egg is starting to set but it is still a bit runny.

Then keep still for a bit, until more of the egg sets and it gets a more consistent texture. You can shake the pan gently and see if the omelette is moving "as one" or not.

You can also run the spoon on the border of the omelette carefully.

When it seems quite set it is time for the turn.

 

Now, don't be a hero!

There is no need to throw the mix in the air while some cheese 80s music plays in the background...

Take your plate, position safely on top of the pan, full palm open on top, turn the pan quickly, and slide the omelette back on the pan, uncooked side down.

Leave to set for a few minutes; you can tap the top of the omelette with the spoon to check how set it is.

Once you are happy with it, slide back out onto a plate and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Clearspring Organic Miso soup

When it's cold out there a soup is my thing, and when I don't have the time or the inclination to make one from scratch, Clearspring miso soup does the trick, just need to boil the kettle! Check out which variety you use though. The organic one with Sea Vegetables (in the pic) is gluten free, but the Mellow White one is not.

It also makes a nice lunch if you add a few things. Using two sachets and a bit more water, you can boil in it most kinds of vegetables for a few minutes. I like mushrooms, broccoli, red chilli and salad onions, all thinly sliced. I also like to add a shredded one egg omelette and a bunch of rice noodles, quick and tasty. You can also add some tamari sauce for seasoning.
I must say I've been known to do this soup with any leftover vegetables in the fridge, asparagus, spinach, baby corns, peppers, you name it. As long as it's all thinly sliced, it'll boil quickly. If you are after a more substantial meal, you can also add a boiled chicken breast (thin slices) and a few more noodles. Dinner is served!