Wild salmon sushi

Serves

4

Timing

Preparation: 15-20 mins
Cooking: 20 mins plus cooling

1 skinned fillet of wild salmon (very fresh), cut into long, thin strips
1 packet Nori seaweed sheets
2½ cups sushi rice
Rice wine vinegar to taste
Half a cucumber, core removed, cut lengthways into thin strips
Bunch of spring onions, trimmed and cut into long thin strips
To serve: soy sauce, pickled ginger, wasabi (Japanese horseradish)

Method

1 Cook the sushi rice according to the instructions on the packet. While still hot, dress with rice wine vinegar to season.

2 On a sushi mat (a small rolling mat available from Asian foodshops or cookshops), lay a sheet of Nori seaweed, cover with a layer of the cooled sushi rice, leaving a 1cm(½ inch) border around the edge.

3 With the handle of a wooden spoon make an indentation in the rice. Into this lay a strip of cucumber and a strip of spring onion, and top with salmon.

4 Moisten the edge with a little cold water and roll up the sushi tightly like a swiss roll.

5 Trim each roll and cut into 4cm (1½ inch) lengths. This may be done on the diagonal and the rolls stood up on their ends.

6 Serve with small dishes of pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi.

Dr Clayton says

Wild salmon is an excellent source of Omega 3 fatty acids to protect the heart from coronary artery disease, as well as help absorption of calcium to help prevent osteoporosis. Wild salmon is also rich in iodine and astaxanthin, a carotenoid derived from red algae, whence its colour.

Salmon also contains Vitamin D, which is essential for the body to take up calcium and distribute it in the body.

Nori seaweed is a good source of essential minerals, including iodine, zinc, copper, iron, magnesium and potassium. Iodine is essential for the normal functioning of the thyroid gland. In the many people who are depleted in copper and iron, these minerals have a variety of health-giving properties, including anti-oxidant and bloodbuilding effects.

Dr Clayton says

highlights the benefits from the main ingredients in each recipe, and the symbols show how those foods can reduce major health threats. The more symbols, the stronger the protection.

Heart disease