Sea-loving sushi recipe

Ingredients

• generous ½ cup (100 g) sushi rice
• 3 tablespoons sushi seasoning (rice vinegar, sugar and salt, if you want to make your own)
• ½ tablespoon mirin

• 4 firm vine tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
• ½ teaspoon caster/granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

• chickpea chuna
• 1 lotus root, peeled and thinly sliced (in lemon water to prevent browning)
• ¼ cucumber, sliced in half lengthways and deseeded
• 6 sheets of nori seaweed, each cut in half
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into strips
• 1 teaspoon wasabi paste
• approx 1 cup (250 ml) plus 1 tablespoon oil, for frying

1. First prepare the rice. Rinse the rice in a sieve/strainer until the water runs clear. Put the rice in a pan with 120 ml/½ cup water. Leave for 30 minutes. Next, place the pan over a medium high heat, with the lid on. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat.
2. Leave the lid on to steam the rice for another 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then pour over the sushi seasoning and mirin. Stir well. Tip into a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Set aside.
3. To make the lox, half-fill a medium pan with water and bring to the boil. With a small paring knife, make a little cross on the bottom of each tomato. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drop in a bowl of iced water. Once cool, remove the skins. Carefully quarter the tomatoes then deseed, taking care to maintain the outer flesh part in one piece, like a large thick petal. Set aside.
4. Heat the oil for frying in a small pan. Gently fry the lotus root slices until just crisp. Drain on paper towels.
5. Slice the cucumber into long strips approximately 5 mm/¼ inch wide.
6. To prepare the sushi with tomato lox, lay out a sheet of clingfilm/plastic wrap. Then, using wet hands, lay some sushi rice on top, enough to cover approximately ½ a nori sheet, about 1 cm/⅜ inch thick. Then lay the ½ nori sheet on top and lay some avocado and cucumber strips down the centre. Using the clingfilm, roll the sushi firmly into a roll, so the vegetables are in the centre, wrapped in nori, then with the rice wrapping around outside of the seaweed. Uncover one side of the roll and layer on the tomato lox pieces. Lay the pieces closely adjacent, and covering one side of the roll. Wrap the clingfilm around the whole thing and twist the ends tightly. Repeat with one or two further rolls. Leave to set |in the fridge for about an hour. Each roll makes about 5 pieces.
7. To make the maki-style rolls, cut a sheet of the nori seaweed into strips. Roll a small amount of sushi rice in your hands then wrap the strip of nori around the rice ball, sealing with a couple of grains of rice as glue. The top will be open, and the rice should only fill about half the roll. Using your finger, rub a little wasabi onto the rice, pushing it down slightly, then add a generous spoonful of the chickpea chuna mixture on top. Repeat with the other strips, to make about 8–10 pieces.
8. To serve, slice the tomato sushi into 5 or 6 pieces per roll with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water. Place a crispy lotus root slice into the top of the maki rolls. Lay onto large platters to serve.