Vegetable Millet "Sushi"

Contrary to popular belief, sushi is not raw fish.  Rather, sushi is vinegared rice, often topped or rolled with fish.  Raw fish on its own is known as sashimi.  Both are delicious.  However, I am not an accomplished sushi chef with access to sushi-grade fish, so what am I supposed to do at home when a sushi craving hits?

I looked in my fridge the other day and noticed that I had some leftover cooked millet.  Millet is a grain, somewhat similar to quinoa.  It has a fair amount of protein, so it's a great choice to fill out a meal instead of rice or potatoes and will fill you right up.  When cooked, it is fluffy like rice and tastes like a  cross between corn and brown rice with a hint of quinoa's nuttiness.  I decided that I would use some of the leftover millet to make vegetable sushi, plus it would use some of my many vegetables from my CSA share that I'm getting this summer.

Avocado, carrot, radishes, cucumber, and kohlrabi became the fillings for my faux-sushi.  I reheated the millet and tossed in some rice vinegar and a pinch of sea salt to mimic sushi rice. Thow it on a sheet of toasted nori and you've got the makings of a delicious, nutritious lunch or hearty snack.

For lunch, serve this vegetable millet sushi with a side salad and your stomach will thank you.  And the best thing about sushi is that you can fill it with any vegetables that you want.  Leftover sweet potato?  Yum! Green beans?  Delicious.  Asparagus?  Heaven!

Vegetable Millet Sushi

Ingredients

bowl of cool water

1/2 cup cooked millet

1/2 tsp rice vinegar

pinch salt

1 sheet toasted nori

1/4 avocado, sliced

1/4 cucumber, sliced

2 small radishes, sliced

1/4 kohlrabi, sliced

1 small carrot, sliced

Directions

1. Combine warm millet, rice vinegar, and salt in a small bowl and mix well.
2. Place nori on a bamboo sushi roller with the long edge facing you.  
3. Press vinegared millet onto front 3/4 of nori sheet, wetting fingers to keep millet from sticking to your hands.
4. Place the sliced vegetables in the middle of the millet, stretching across the length of the nori sheet.  Be careful not to overstuff your sushi roll or it will be difficult to roll.
5. Using the bamboo mat to assist you, roll the front long edge of the nori over the filling, packing the vegetables and millet tightly inside.
6. Continue rolling, sealing the edge of the nori not covered with millet to the roll with a small amount of water.
7. Slice the sushi into 8 equal pieces and enjoy!

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