Having a picnic in the park is not only about eating panini!
Sun is finally shining here in Berlin and the city offers many options in each area. Close to where I leave there are a couple of parks like Helmholtzplatz or the magical Ernst-Tälmann Park, inhabited by cherry trees with their pearled yet vivid pink and the white translucent petals of the almond trees. We decided to have a small picnic bringing some vitamin drink, books, sunglasses and my freshly made Onigirazu, which are perfect for a lunch on the go.
To make this vegan sushi really unique and more colorful I’ve combined 1 teaspoon of blue spirulina to my almond spread cheese!
The result is paradisiac: the blue spirulina, sent me by Pure Raw has this rich, has this almost hypnotic light Prussian blue color that combined with the glossy white of the almond cheese it looks like painting fluffy clouds in the sky. I am definitely a fan of these multi-sensorial experiences in the kitchen!
I’ve already made a video about homemade almond spread cheese here , so you can simply follow the instructions and add 1 teaspoon of blue spirulina to 1/4 cup of cheese (or even more if you like a deeper blue finish), or you can simply add it to any vegan spread cheese you can find in the grocery. This recipe is indeed pretty simple, but a bit of patience is required when assembling all the ingredients. The sushi rice is particularly sticky because the high amount of starch so is crucial give it a good wash until the water is clear and transparent. When shaping the rice, is always important to have your hands clean and wet and having around all the ingredients already prepared and sliced. The ability here is more about assembling all the components.
Facts: blue spirulina is high in proteins, iron, vitamin b, antioxidants.
Sushi Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Sushi Rice
- Nori sheets
- some sliced cucumber
- some sliced carrot
- 1/2 avocado (sliced)
- little paprika sliced
- 100gr Tofu sliced
- 1/2 cup soy sauce + 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- almond cheese spread
- 1 tsp blue spirulina
- vegan mayo
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°
- Brush the sliced tofu with soy sauce and vinegar and bake it for around 30 minutes (better if you fold it with some aluminum foil)
- Wash the sushi rice until the water is clear and cook it (I used my rice cooker, 2 cups of water for 2 cups of rice vinegar).
- Once the rice is cooked, add some herbs or black sesame seeds (I used shiso powder), add 1 Tbs rice vinegar to the rice and combine.
- add 1 tsp of blue spirulina on 1/4 cup vegan spread cheese (you can follow my recipe here)
- Place around 2 Tbs rice in the middle of the nori sheet, top with the ingredients starting with the slices of tofu, spirulina cheese, cucumber slices or avocado (or both), mayo, paprika
- Top with other 2 Tbs rice, shape with wet hands.
- fold all the 4 corners into the center
- wrap with food wrap film and cut in half with a sharp knife.