YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Spring 2018 | Page 14

CAROLINE TRICKEY, APD
Caroline is a culinary nutritionist and dietitian. She is also
the author of Veggie-licious: How to cook with lentils,
chickpeas, beans, tofu and eat more plant-based foods.
Find out more at healthyhomecafe.com
SUPER SPRING RECIPE
QUINOA AND BROWN RICE
SUSHI ROLLS
Makes: 4 vegetable rolls
Ingredients
½ cup long grain brown rice
1
/ 3 cup quinoa (any colour)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar*
1 teaspoon sugar
3 nori sheets
1 teaspoon wasabi, optional
1 small Lebanese cucumber, sliced
¾ medium avocado, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 medium beetroot (120g), peeled and grated
1½ tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
*You’ll need a bamboo mat to roll your sushi on. Rice vinegar and sushi
bamboo mats are available in the Asian section of most supermarkets.
Method
1 Start by cooking both the quinoa and brown rice.
2 To cook brown rice,  measure out, put  into a sieve and
rinse.  Transfer into a small saucepan with two cups of
water. Place lid on saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower
the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 to 40 minutes
(check packet for cooking time, as it varies greatly with
brown rice from 25 to 50 minutes).
3 To cook quinoa,  measure out and  place  in a sieve and
quinoa and rice, then follow with avocado, carrot,
beetroot and lastly sprinkle with sesame seeds.
10 Roll nori sheet up. Use your thumbs and forefingers to
pick up the edge of the mat closest to you. Use your
other fingers to hold the filling while rolling the mat over,
so as to enclose the nori sheet around the filling. Gently
pull the mat as you go, to create a firm roll.
rinse well. Transfer into a small saucepan with 2 / 3 cup of
water, place lid on saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower
the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 to 18 minutes. When
cooked, fluff with a fork. 11 When it is half rolled up, dip one of your hands in water
4 Mix together hot rice, hot quinoa, rice vinegar and sugar. 12 When complete, you will have two very long veggie
Set aside to cool.
5 While you are waiting for the rice mixture to cool, prepare
the fillings.
6 Place a sushi bamboo mat* down on your bench with the
slats running horizontally.  Have a small bowl of water
close by.
7 Place a nori sheet on the sushi mat with the shiny side
down, then using the back of a teaspoon, spread a small
amount of wasabi along the front edge of the nori sheet.
8 Measure out approximately ¾ cup of the quinoa and rice
mix per sushi roll, and using wet hands, spread it evenly
over the front three quarters of the nori sheet, leaving at
least a 3cm-wide border along the edge furthest from you.
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9 Place cucumber along the front edge on top of the
YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE SPRING 2018
and wet the end of the nori sheet. Continue rolling until
all the quinoa is covered with the nori, to create a nice
neat roll.
rolls. Cut the rolls in half (to make four veggie rolls), or
into bite-sized pieces.
13 Serve with reduced sodium soy sauce for dipping, and
enjoy!
Information from www.nutritionaustralia.org
TIP: Sushi is a great activity that you can get the kids involved
with. Have them choose some of their favourite fillings and
once you teach them how to roll them properly, you may never
have to do it again yourself!