Sushi Stack

How many recipes do you have bookmarked? Despite constantly cleaning mine out, I rarely have less than 100 of them. Right now, the number is hovering closer to 120. I recently started going through them in chronological order, determined to try as many as possible.

I saved this one from No Face Plate.  Like Julia, I'm pretty challenged when it comes to rolling sushi. I thought stacking it and slicing it was a genius idea. You also get a higher proportion of fillings to rice and nori this way.

I like some tofu in my sushi, so I made a variation on my usual square tofu omelet for one layer. Avocado is a must in sushi at my house, so that became another layer. Finally, I added carrots for color and crunch. I also grabbed some chives and basil from the garden for a little extra flavor. We loved this combo - for the first time since I've been making sushi there were no leftovers.

There are a couple of tricks to a sushi stack like this. First, arrange the fillings from bottom to top with the firmest first and softest last, so that your soft fillings don't squish out on the bottom when you cut through the stack. Second, use a long, serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to cut the squares. If you've pressed the stack firmly enough, you'll be able to make lots of bite-sized squares without any toothpicks to hold them together.

I'm entering this in Bookmarked Recipes, hosted by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes (and originally founded by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments) .

Sushi Stack

1 1/2 cups sushi or Calrose rice

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 medium carrot

1/4 recipe tofu-besan omelet (see below)

1 small Haas avocado

6 small basil leaves

4 sheets nori

Small bundle chives

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Prepared wasabi and soy sauce to serve

Cook rice according to package directions. Or, add rice to a small pan with a tight-fitting lid, along with 2 cups of water. Bring to a low boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook without stirring for 15 minutes until water is absorbed. Stir together the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Transfer rice to a bowl and gently stir in the vinegar mixture. Allow rice to cool enough to handle.

While the rice is cooling, make the omelet below.

Cut carrot into matchstick-sized pieces. Cut omelet piece into strips about 1/2 inch wide. Slice avocado. Roll basil leaves into a tight bundle and thinly slice.

Mix some vinegar (any kind) with an equal amount of water in a small bowl. Place a sheet of nori on a cutting board. Add a generous 1/2 cup of rice. Dip your fingers into the vinegar and water to keep the rice from sticking to them, and spread the rice across the sheet of nori all the way to the edges. Distribute the carrots on top. Top with another generous half cup of rice and spread it out. Top with a sheet of nori. Make the second layer the same way as the first, using tofu strips as the filling. Top with another sheet of nori. For the last layer, use the avocado, chives, and basil. Top with the last sheet of nori and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Top sushi stack with another cutting board. Weight with something heavy, such as a cast iron skillet, and press gently but firmly. Carefully remove skillet and cutting board. Using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion, cut stack into 6 strips on the long side, and then cut the strips into 4 pieces each on the short side.

Makes 24 pieces, 3 or 4 servings. 

Tofu Besan Omelet

Use 1/4 of this in the sushi and save the rest for sandwiches. It freezes well.

12-14 ounces firm, water-pack tofu, drained

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon mirin or water

1/4 cup besan (chickpea flour), preferably from roasted chickpeas

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine tofu, olive oil and mirin or water in a food processor until creamy. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Spread batter into a well-oiled 8 x 8 inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until firm and golden.

Cut into 4 squares.

Baked Spring Rolls: From Fried to Favourite

This recipe is a case of "do as I say and not as I do."

You see, I make baked spring rolls all the time with frozen and thawed tofu that 's been left over from other recipes. I usually keep it in the freezer until I also have some cabbage I need to use up, and then all I need are some frozen spring roll wrappers and ingredients that I always have around. For some reason I never got around posting the recipe on the blog.

When Nupur suggested spring rolls for this month's From Fried to Favourite, I thought I'd try a variation on them. I replaced the tofu with some steamed edamame and corn; the filling was so pretty with the bright green soybeans. I rolled and baked two right away and took photos of them for the post. Then I rolled up the remaining ones and baked them for supper. Nearly every one of them burst open in the oven, splitting lengthwise and exposing the filling like a baked potato.

I suspect the problem is that I use a stir-fry sauce in the filling. The porous previously-frozen tofu was probably absorbing the extra moisture, and when I used whole veggies instead, there was too much steam inside the spring rolls.  So, while the picture up there is of the two that didn't burst, the actual recipe is my tried and true.

One thing that makes baked spring rolls especially good is using the right wrapper. The best for baking are the TYJ Spring Roll Pastry wrappers that are always sold frozen. You should be able to find them in any Asian market and some supermarkets with a frozen international foods section.  These result in a baked spring roll that's light and crispy (and vegan). I like to serve these with any simple noodle recipe or roasted broccoli.

Baked Tofu Springrolls

You can also use 4 cups of baked cole slaw veggies in place of the cabbage and carrot. If you use whole cabbage and carrots, the slicing disk of a food processor makes quick work of shredding them.

6 dried shiitake mushrooms

1 tablespoon oil for the pan, plus extra for brushing the spring rolls

8 ounces of tofu, frozen and thawed

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons mirin

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

3-1/2 cups shredded cabbage

1/2 cup shredded carrot

9 spring roll wrappers, about 1/2 a package

Black or white sesame seeds (optional)

Rinse the dried shiitakes and place them in a small bowl. Cover them in boiling water and set aside to soften for 20 minutes. Drain and slice into thin strips, discarding the tough stem. Squeeze as much water as you can from the tofu and crumble. Whisk together the soy sauce, mirin, and rice vinegar.

Heat oil in a large skillet or a wok. Sauté the mushrooms for a minute. Add tofu and a couple of tablespoons of the sauce, stir and cook for another minute or two. Add cabbage and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, until the volume of cabbage is reduced by about a third, but it is still somewhat crisp. Add the rest of the soy sauce mixture and continue to cook and stir until the liquid appears to be absorbed. Set filling aside to cool enough to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil a baking sheet. Have a small bowl of water at hand. Place a wrapper with one of the corners facing you. Spread 1/3 cup of the filling across the wrapper from left to right and fold the left and right corners toward the middle. Fold the front corner toward the back and roll up the spring roll firmly (but not so tight as to tear the wrapper.) Just before rolling up the last of the wrapper, dip your fingers into the water and wet the last corner to seal the spring roll. Transfer to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Brush the spring rolls lightly with oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Bake for 6 minutes, turn over, and bake for another 6-8 minutes until lightly golden. 

Serves 3 as a meal or 9 as a snack. 

Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Soup

Here is a tasty something that I made with the masala paste from my last recipe post. Roasting the cauliflower adds a depth of flavor that makes it seem like you spent hours making the soup, but once the masala paste is made, the soup comes together in a snap; most of the time is spend waiting for the cauliflower to roast and the lentils to become tender.  (If you don't want to make a big batch of masala paste, I've included instructions for making just enough for this recipe at the end.)

Roasted cauli sort of looks like burned popcorn. It tastes much better, though!

 

Roasted Cauliflower and Red Lentil Soup

1 large cauliflower, about 2-1/4 pounds

2-1/2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste

1 stalk celery, diced small

1 carrot, diced small

1/3 cup All-Purpose Masala Paste (see note below)

1/3 cup red lentils

5 cups vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

Chopped cilantro and roasted cashews for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F and oil a large baking pan. Cut cauliflower into pieces small enough to fit on a spoon. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes until cauliflower is just starting to brown.

Heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a large pot. Sauté celery and carrot until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in masala paste and heat through.  Add lentils, vegetable broth, and bay leaf. Bring to a low boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. As soon as you take the roasted cauliflower out of the oven, add it to the soup.

Transfer a couple of cups of soup to a blender and puree until creamy; leave the center of the lid off and cover with a dish towel to prevent the steam from pushing the lid off as you blend. Add the pureed soup back to the pot and stir. You can also use a stick blender to partially blend the soup. Add more salt if desired.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro and cashews. 

Serves about 5.

Note: if you don't have masala paste already made, you'll need:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup onion, finely diced

1 inch piece ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapeños, seeded and finely diced

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/8 teaspoon cayenne or to taste

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Heat the canola oil in a pot. Sauté the onion for 5 minutes until tender. Add the carrot and celery from above (without adding extra oil) and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, and jalapeños and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cumin seeds, salt, garam masala, cayenne, and cilantro and cook for a minute. Proceed with the rest of the soup recipe.