Sunflower Seed ‘Tuna’ Sushi

We know what you’re thinking… sunflower seed ‘tuna’ sounds a little weird. We promise you this recipe is so easy to make and absolutely delicious. The sunflower seed mix turns into a pate form and goes perfectly with avocado and crunchy cucumber. Let us know if you make this, we’d love to hear what you think!

Makes roughly 3 rolls of sushi (approx. 24 pieces)

Ingredients:

Sunflower seed ‘tuna’:  
¾ C activated sunflower seeds
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 celery stalk, chopped
¼ red onion
Pinch of salt and pepper

Rice:  
1 C white sushi rice
2 C water
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp pink salt

Other ingredients:  
1 avocado, thinly diced
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced lengthways
3 sheets of sushi seaweed

Method:

Rinse your rice in a sieve until the water runs clear then add to a pot with 2 cups of water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a low-medium heat until the water is absorbed – roughly 15 minutes. 

While the rice is cooking, add the rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt to a small pot and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Set aside and cool in the fridge until the rice is finished cooking.

If you don’t have activated sunflower seeds, you can use regular sunflower seeds and soak them in a bowl of water overnight to activate them which makes the nutrients more accessible and digestible. If you have activated sunflower seeds, pop all sunflower seed ‘tuna’ ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined. You will need to scrap the sides, and do this two or three times. Set aside. 

Once the rice is done, add the cooled vinegar mixture and fluff up with a fork. It should be sticky.

To roll the sushi, you can either use a sushi mat or if you don’t have one, roll a teatowel out on a bench and place a large honey wrap on top of it. Place one sheet of seaweed on the sushi mat or honey wrap and lay one third of the rice onto the seaweed leaving one end with about a 2cm strip of no rice. 

Place a strip of cucumber and avocado down then spoon the sunflower seed ‘tuna’ closely next to the avocado. 

Start to roll one end of the sushi roll with the mat or honey wrap guiding a tight roll then if using a honey wrap, gently pull away the honey wrap and continue rolling the sushi roll. Do this process with the remaining ingredients.

Pop the sushi rolls in the fridge for 30 minutes then cut into pieces using a sharp knife.

A perfect on-the-go lunch. Enjoy!

Photography by Sarah aka @thesaarahproject.

Printable recipe PDF here.