Sushi-inspired Part II (and Gazpacho Soup with a twist!)

When, at the ripe age of 31, you travel to North America for the first time and have your first sushi dish and are blown away and realize that when you go back you won't have access to the quantity nor quality of restaurants serving the dish, you make a point of making it yourself...at home. 

And when your first sushi-inspired dish takes a good two hours or so to put together, AND because you wonder. You just wonder how it would be like to have a spoonful of sushi out of a big bowl...well, you set out to do just that. You assemble: 

- White sticky short-grained rice, otherwise known as sushi rice

- Avocados 

- Smoked salmon 

- Sesame seeds 

- Arugula and thinly sliced red cabbage, in lieu of the seaweed 

- Fresh mint leaves (which work great but are highly optional) 

- Soy sauce (preferably organic because the taste is remarkably different) 

Then it's as simple and as satisfying as tossing everything together in a big bowl and taking in the delight that comes with digging out a SPOONful of sushi. Ahem, mindfully. 

Serves three

Ingredients: 

For the gazpacho soup 

5 ripe tomatoes; skin removed, and roughly chopped

1 small garlic clove; minced  

½ of an Italian green pepper; seeded and roughly chopped  

½ of a sweet banana pepper; seeded and roughly chopped 

½ of a granny smith apple, cored and roughly chopped 

1 cup seeded and chopped watermelon 

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, separated 

Juice of half a lemon 

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to garnish 

For the sushi-inspired dish 

1 cup white Valencian rice (or any rice equivalent to Japanese rice)

200g smoked salmon, cut into small rectangulars 

80g arugula
⅛ of a small-sized red cabbage, thinly sliced crosswise 

2 small-sized ripe avocados, cut into cubes
1 tablespoon of lightly toasted white and black sesame seeds 

1 handful of fresh mint leaves 

Organic soy sauce to taste 

Preparation: 
To make the gazpacho soup 
Add all ingredients, except a tablespoon of olive oil and the black pepper, to a blender and blend to a uniform liquid texture. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove tomato seeds and other tough bits, and store in the fridge whilst making the sushi-inspired dish. Before serving, drizzle in the remaining olive oil and garnish with black pepper. 

To make the sushi-inspired dish 

In a pot over high heat, add 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover the pot with a kitchen cloth, and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes or until all the water is completely gone. The rice should have a soft and sticky texture. Transfer to a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix together. Enjoy with soy sauce to your taste!