Despite my nagging about eating 'nude' this month, and fruit being the natural nude choice, said fruit is not usually at the top of this families' list of 'things I really want to eat'. Usually the list of 'things I really want to eat', is headed by chocolate, and ends with pizza and chips. Funnily enough though, sushi is right up there too. Even Husband will eat good sushi.
So you can imagine their faces when I said we were having sushi for dessert. I know what you're thinking. Off her rocker this time. I mean, who eats something savoury for dessert? Well, there is cheese ya know. Quite the done thing in some circles.
But the sushi I'm making is creamy, lightly sweetened coconut rice, wrapped around fruity pieces and served with a honey vanilla yoghurt dipping sauce. Seriously good stuff.
Start this one the night before you want it, or at least several hours before. It's easier to cut and will hold together better after several hours of chilling.
Dessert Sushi
Serves six or one very greedy person
To make this you need:
Cling Wrap
Room in the fridge for storage
Medium sized microwave safe dish
Spoon
Measuring cups
Sharp knives...one or two for slicing fruit, and a nice, thin straight edged one for slicing the 'sushi'.
Tall glass full of hot water to clean your knife, and a clean cloth to dry it between slicing
Plus these ingredients:
1 cup rice. Sushi rice is best, but even normal Long Grain rice will do.
1 cup milk
1 tin coconut milk
1 heaped dessertspoon sugar (optional)
Fruit cut into slivers eg. strawberries, melon, pear, mandarin, halved blueberries
1/4 cup natural Greek yoghurt
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Tip your rice, and milk into the microwave safe dish and give it a stir. Add the sugar and half of the coconut milk and stir again. Pop it into the microwave and zap it for six minutes on HIGH. Give it a stir. Now depending upon the type of rice you've used, you'll probably need at least another 1/4 cup of coconut milk added, and another nuke for six minutes. It should be like slush, and the grains should be tender. If necessary, add the remainder of the coconut milk and microwave again, just for 3 minutes, this time. It should now be perfect.
Set it aside for an hour or so to cool. Once it's cooled to room temperature, it's ready to handle.
While the rice is cooling, prepare your sheets of cling wrap. These are going to act like the bamboo mat in traditional sushi making, and hold your sushi together neatly while it chills and sets. So you'll need three 45cm long sheets of cling wrap, doubled back on themselves. This gives you three bamboo mat sized sheets, of double thickness, with which to roll your sushi.
If you haven't already drafted help from the ranks, now's the time to arm those old and savvy enough, with knives to assist with cutting the fruit into neat little slivers. This is a bit labour and time intensive so it's a case of all hands on deck. Little, round ended pate` knives are safe enough for even little hands, and do a reasonable job of cutting up softer fruit like strawberries, kiwi fruit and grapes. I think it's important to involve the rest of the family, so they come to realise that the food doesn't arrive on the table, straight from the market or supermarket ready made. We Mums do all the good stuff!
Divide your coconut rice equally between the three sheets of cling wrap, and flatten it out with clean hands. Then, as you would for normal sushi, spread your slivers of fruit horizontally, along the edge closest to you. Then using the cling wrap as a guide, flip the rice over on itself, encasing your fruit slivers, and covering it with cling wrap, tug it towards you to firm up the 'roll'. Continue rolling then enclose firmly in the cling wrap, twisting the ends to seal. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
When you're ready to eat dessert, make up your dipping sauce by simply mixing the honey, yoghurt and vanilla together, and popping into a teeny dish.
Remove your sushi from the refrigerator and carefully undo the cling wrap, then using a very thin, sharp knife, cut the roll in half, then in half again to yield 4 rounds. Make sure you clean the knife carefully between slices for the neatest cut.
Line them up, all pretty on a serving platter, and let the hoardes loose. And you know that egg platter that you inherited from Aunty Mabel, that you never could find a use for? Well, it's perfect for serving your dessert sushi...who knew?
Sushi for dessert could become a regular on the menu for you as it is for us. Our personal favourite is slivers of Lindt Strawberry Intense chocolate, with fresh strawberry slivers, and honeyed greek yoghurt for dipping....shhhh.
Toodle-oo, as my Mum used to say. I'm off for a loooooong walk. That dessert sushi needs to be worked off!
