avocado and radish sushi rolls

... many many moons ago when I was just a teenage food-lover starting out in my life I decided to take a course on 'cooking for cash'. This was really a beginners course on how to earn a living by doing what you love, not only did it cover how to cook certain foods such as canapes and cupcakes but it also taught us how to budget for selling food in different arenas such as markets, cocktail parties or setting up your own food business... I loved the course and gained a lot from it, in particular I learnt how to make sushi rolls, something which I thought would be really tricky to do as it always seemed so exotic to me but which is, in fact actually very easy, takes very very little time, some delicious fresh ingredients and a steady hand...

avocado and radish sushi rolls
to make everything even easier I was recently sent a special sushi kit for 2 produced by Yutaka... they were marketing the kit as perfect for Valentines Day but to be honest I think sushi should be loved all year round and with its easy to follow instructions and a natty boil-in-the-bag rice you don't have to wait for a special occasion to enjoy...

here's my recipe for a simple vegetarian sushi roll for beginners to both sushi eating and sushi making... i've used mayonnaise to mellow the wasabi paste but feel free to eliminate this or reduce the mayo to increase the intensity of taste. The recipe calls for sushi rice or shari rice but as an alternative you could use any short-grain Japanese or Chinese rice.

enough to cover 3 sheets of nori seaweed
250g sushi rice
330ml water
3 tablespoons Japanese rice vinegar (again you could substitute for white vine vinegar)
2 tablespoons sugar
a large pinch of salt
2 x sheets nori seaweed
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 x avocado - halved, peeled and thickly sliced
4 or 5 raw radish sliced lengthways into matchsticks

pickled ginger and soy sauce to serve

you will need a sushi rolling mat but sushi can be rolled very easily using foil and a tea towel, so don't worry too much about equipment

start with the rice by placing it in a saucepan and rinsing 4 times in cold water until the water runs clear, then cover with 330ml water, place a lid on the pan and bring to boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave with the lid on for 20 mins

combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt and stir till the sugar dissolves, then when the rice has cooled, pour this over the rice and set aside.

in a small bowl stir the wasabi into the mayo and prepare your avocado and radish

wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge until ready to serve

to serve, simply slice into mouth-sized portions and dip into soy sauce with a slither of pickled ginger on top

The Yutaka Sushi Kit for 2 retails at £4.99 from Sainsbury's or various on-line stores.

eat and of course, enjoy!