The very first time I ever tried sushi was on a road trip with some girlfriends back when we were 18. We spent a few weeks driving up the east cost of Australia and stopped in to a little town along the way for a bite to eat. We ended up stumbling along a Japanese restaurant and stopped in for sushi. I think I tried an avocado one and an inari. It was love at first bite.
Arriving back home in Hobart, we were excited to see a little fast food joint in the city selling sushi rolls a few months later. As you would expect from a fast food eatery, it wasn’t the greatest sushi in the world, but as it was all we could get, no one was complaining.
Nowadays, there are sushi restaurants all over the place. My favorite is a short drive south of Hobart, though nothing can compare with the amazing fresh sushi that I ate at the Fish Markets in Tokyo one spring morning a few years back. As a porridge enthusiast who normally doesn’t eat breakfast until a few hours after waking, I was wondering how I would go eating raw fish at 6am in the morning, but even a few years later I still havent tried sushi quite as good – or as fresh – as what I had that day.
I have been making quite a bit of sushi at home over the past few months (a lot of which you may have seen on my Instagram account). This one is my new favorite – the sweetness of the roasted carrot hummus contrasts perfectly with the saltiness of the mushrooms and nori. If you follow a paleo diet, you could try making the carrot hummus with just carrot, or soaking some sunflower seeds or cashews and using those instead of chickpeas.
Grain-free nori rolls with roasted carrot hummus
Roasted carrot hummus
3 large carrots, peeled and quartered
1 cup canned, drained chick peas
1/4 cup tahini
Juice of half a lemon
2 Tbsp or olive oil (or water)
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
Marinated mushrooms
4 large mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds
Sushi vegetables – any combination of thinly sliced carrot, cabbage, lettuce, capsicum, cucumber
Toasted nori sheets
To make the hummus, preheat the oven to 200 C || 390 F. Roast the carrots 20 – 25 minutes, turning half way through. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix until smooth.
To make the marinated mushrooms, combine all ingredients in a container and leave at least an hour to marinate. The mushrooms will absorb the liquid and soften during this time.
To assemble the nori rolls, lay a nori sheet on a sushi mat or flat surface. Place 2 Tablespoons of the hummus on the sheet and spread over to cover one third of the heet, leaving a gap of around 2 cm from the edge. Grab a small handful of the sliced vegetables and the mushrooms and place on top. To roll up, start with the side with the dip and fold over and tuck under the fillings, then roll until you reach the edge of the sheet. Slice in half
*If you are struggling to roll up the nori wraps, there are a bunch of videos on YouTube which may help.
Roasted carrot hummus, yum! I can taste the sweet creaminess as I read about it. Love this fresh and simple take on nori rolls!
Its pretty good stuff! Thanks Katie :)
Gorgeous, gorgeous! Stunning photos! The combination of marinated mushrooms and roasted carrot hummus? Totally amazing! My brother lived in Tokyo for a time, and although I didn’t make it there to visit him (having new babies kinda put a damper on that journey! :D), I heard stories of amazing, early morning sushi adventures! I would take your version any morning, for sure!
Thanks Shelley! The mushrooms and hummus really do work well together.
I looove sushi! And I clearly remember the first time I had it too ;)
The idea of making sushi without rice is awesome. Love it! So healthy and it looks so damn delicious!
Thanks Josefine! x
I love these wraps and they look super healthy x
Thank you Trisha :)
I love how colorful and beautiful these rolls are! They look amazing.
I actually hated sushi the first time I tried it because it was full of little orange fish eggs that I couldn’t get out of my mouth…blech. Just the thought makes me shiver.
I’ve tried a few other rolls since then that were really good but I bet these would blow them out of the water! Although, I still don’t think I could eat sushi for breakfast…
Fish roe sushi! Yes I always struggled with those ones as well. I never thought I’d be able to do sushi for breakfast either, but… when in Rome (Tokyo?)
I feel like I am right there about to eat these! Delicious! Joe & I have Japan on our travel bucket list. I think I could handle fresh seafood in the morning.
You should definitely try to get to Japan, its such a beautiful and interesting country to visit. I’d love to go back there. You will LOVE all the amazing food, including all the 6am fresh fish ;)
I tried sushi for the first time a month ago or so and I’ve been in love with it ever since. Your version looks incredible, so I’m dying to try to make my own at home now.
Gorgeous pictures by the way!
How good is it! Definitely have a go at home, I find rolling it trickiest, and its much easier using a dip instead of the rice.
I’m not a mushroom fan unless the mushrooms are fresh and not wet/soggy/cooked. Does anyone have any suggestions on a substitution for the marinated mushrooms?
I have used thinly sliced marinated tofu before which works well. You could try tempeh too.