Denise says:

When I invite friends over for dinner they always get the favourite crudités but always like to be a little creative to whet the appetite with a new canapé before dinner. These little sushi rice balls covered with smoked salmon are incredibly easy to make and quick to prepare.

The secret of this recipe is to cook the rice to perfection. A sushi chef spends 3 years learning just that – use only sushi rice to get the best consistency. As a general rule, use 10 percent more water than rice – eg 200g raw rice, 220 ml water gives you 300g cooked rice. In addition, all the products are from Kavannah Kosher products making shopping for specialist ingredients required for this recipe so much easier than it ever used to be.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes plus 10 minutes cooling time
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 18

Ingredients:

225g Kavannah kosher sushi rice – rinsed and drained
250ml water
2 teaspoons sugar
Pinch of salt
450g smoked salmon

Garnish
Kavannah kosher Wasabi paste – to taste
18 sprigs of dill
Kavannah Kosher Soy sauce – to dip

2 tablespoons Kavannah Kosher white wine vinegar

Method

1)Rinse the rice well before cooking to remove the starch: put into a pan, cover with plenty of water and stir – the water will become cloudy. Drain and repeat 4-5 times until the water is clear.
2)Put the rice, salt and 250ml water in a pan over a high heat. Cover, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cook for 10 minutes. Set aside, covered for 10 minutes.
NB: Don't uncover the pan while the rice is cooking, or even whilst it's set aside – you want the steam to build up so the grains swell and soften.
3)Transfer the hot rice to a bowl and stir in the vinegar and sugar. Now 'cut' through the rice by folding a spoon through it several times to mix.
4)With wet hands, shape the cooked rice into 18 balls.
5)Lay out some cling film on a board, top with a thin slice of smoked salmon and place a rice ball in the centre.
6)Use the cling film to bring the fish up around the rice, and then twist the cling film tightly at the top.
7)Repeat to make 18. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Unwrap and discard the cling film.
To serve the stylish way: Garnish with sprigs of dill and / or wasabi. Serve with some soy sauce to dip into.
Tagged in: Dinner Party, Family Cooking, Japanese, Parev, Rice, Shabbat, Smoked Salmon