Raw vegan sushi rolls

SO... I was browsing through some of my new raw food prep books I got at the Friends of the Library Book Sale yesterday and found several variations of raw sushi (and was SO tempted to make some yesterday but needed to let some seeds soak for my pate so I waited to make it today!). The coolest thing about it is it's pretty versatile and you can modify and change additions in your sushi easily. Since going vegan my taste buds crave sushi and raw fish but my heart reminds me of the fact that seafood is NOT sustainable. I guess finding an alternative way to satisfy by cravings is actually an option now! I took a variation of a California roll recipe and combined it with some "NOT salmon pate", both recipes found in "Raw Food Made Easy" by Jennifer Cornbleet. You can add the fish pate like I did (or even make it tuna instead), or leave your colorful plant based rolls purely veggies. Up to you! Enjoy this one and don't be afraid to get creative and have fun!





Ingredients (I'm leaving the quantities open so you can make as many as you want/need depending on how many you're serving. For 1-2 people use 2 nori rolls or 5-6 seaweed snacks, ½ an avocado and ½ of each veggie. Use your miso and sprouts from the container as needed):

Nori sheets or seaweed snacks pack to make mini rolls (this is what I did, found the snacks at Trader Joes)
white miso paste
sprouts
ripe avocado
cucumber
carrot ribbons (make by slicing carrot longways with a veggie scraper)
¼ bell pepper chopped lengthwise into thin matchsticks
optional: add matchsticks of other colorful veggies of your choice such as watermelon radish (a mild flavored radish, adds bright pink color)
optional: if you want your sushi to have "fish", also whip up a batch of tuna or salmon pâté



Directions:

Lay out a sheet of nori on a bamboo sushi mat, or several sheets of seaweed snacks on a plate. Spread ~1 teaspoon of miso along the bottom third of your nori sheet or a small smudge along the bottom third of your seaweed snacks. Along the bottom edge over the miso, layer the sprouts, avocado, cucumber, raptor and bell pepper, using a thin row of each so all will fit when you roll. If you're using "fish", add a dollop of the pate in a row above your veggies. Below are my ingredients layered atop mini seaweed snacks so you can get the idea of how they should look. Don't fret if your veggies hang out a little.



Roll up your sushi with the bamboo mat by rolling the front edge of the nori over the filling, squeezing with the matt, lifting the mat and continuing to roll. If you're using seaweed snacks, gently form a roll so that the edges of the seaweed meet. Gently press your edges together and run a little bit of water along the "seam" of the seaweed to get it to seal. If you used seaweed snacks you can serve and eat them as is, or slice each into 2 smaller rolls with a serrated knife. If you used a nori roll, slice the roll into 6-8 pieces with a serrated knife.

Arrange on a plate with tamari or liquid aminos, pickled ginger, and/or wasabi as optional toppings. Enjoy this and tell me it doesn't taste like the real thing (but cruelty-free and way more sustainable!) Mine were clearly a little overstuffed and hard to seal up. Here is my second batch (yes.. they were so good I kept making more!) Presentation of these guys was poor but the taste was phenomenal , I promise <3