Yes, yes I know this isn’t sushi, sushi means vinegared rice and this recipe contains neither but it seems the easiest way to kind of describe the dish to non Japanese speakers….

I bought a packet of “soup mix” the other day, it contained various dried grains, lentils, peas etc and cost about 60p for 500g. A friend had been urban foraging and generously given me a beautiful large crown prince pumpkin so these were to form the basis for that night’s dinner. As I cooked the soup mix I kept tasting bits, I wanted it so it was still pretty firm in texture yet soft enough to eat and once it reached that exact moment the idea for this dish was born. Obviously you need to make sure that the mix you use doesn’t contain any ingredients that need pre-soaking or can be harmful if eaten al-dente.

Ingredients:

• 200g Morrisons own brand soup mix grains and pulses 
• 1 tablespoon dark brown miso
• 1 crown prince pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed and thickly slices
• 1 tblsp Cotswold Gold rapeseed oil (or other nutty oil)
• tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp garlic granules
• 1 tsp nigella
• salt and pepper
• red onion, thinly sliced
• diced cucumber
• small stick celery, chopped
• lollo rosso leaves, torn into pieces
• nori sheets
• tamari
• wasabi paste

Method:

1. Combine the pumpkin, oil, cumin, garlic, nigella, salt and pepper and roast in a hot oven until the pumpkin is soft, set aside to cool.
2. Cook the soup mix in water that has the miso dissolved in it, cook for about half the packet recommended cooking time, the pulses should still have a good nutty texture to them, drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
3. Add the onion, cucumber, celery and lollo rosso to the soup mix and combine well.
4. Make a potent dip by combining some tamari with a generous dollop of fiery wasabi and mix well.
5. Lay out a sheet of nori, spoon over a layer of soup mix/salad and top with a slice of pumpkin, roll then immediately dip in the sauce and eat. Make each one as you go otherwise the seaweed will go soggy.