Perfect for a romantic night in, these delicate sushi rolls are surprisingly simple to make.
Step 1: Preparing the tuna tartare
Begin by making a simple tuna tartare. This a great recipe for using up sashimi leftovers as off-cuts are ideal for this. Chop up the raw tuna off-cuts and transfer to a bowl.
Add a tablespoon of mayonnaise and a tablespoon of masago (Caplin fish roe). Add a squirt of Sriracha hot sauce, being careful to tailor this to your spice tolerance.
Mix gently and place in the fridge until needed.
Step 2: Making the pink mayonnaise
Create the pink mayonnaise by mixing roughly 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise with a tablespoon of raspberry juice. You can add more raspberry juice to get a deeper colour, or alternatively a couple of drops of synthetic food dye will achieve a similar effect.
Create a make-shift piping bag by taking a regular zip lock bag. Grab the corner of the bag and wrap it around your hand. Push the plastic inside your balled fist to make a crevice.
Scoop the mayonnaise in the crevice, invert the bag and refrigerate for later use. To create the piping bag, we will simply snip the corner of the plastic bag before use.
Step 3: Assembling the roll
Preparation finished, we can now begin to assemble the roll.
Place a bamboo rolling mat within a zip-lock bag. Place half a sheet of nori on top.
Take the cooked sushi rice (120g/4oz) and place evenly on top of the nori. Be careful not to compact the sushi rice; it should be light and fluffy.
If you’re unsure of how to cook sushi rice, use this simple sushi rice guide.
Step 4: Creating the sushi roll
Flip over the sheet of nori (so the rice is facing the bamboo rolling mat) and fork the tuna tartare on top. The tuna should form a central column. Place 2 slices of avocado (peeled) on top of the tuna.
Roll the bamboo mat using a press and release forwards motion to create the sushi roll. You should now be left with a neat roll.
Step 5: Creating the half heart shape
To create the heart, the roll should resemble a half heart shape. We create this by placing the bamboo mat over the sushi roll. Press down on one side using your palms and use your fingers to keep the other side in place – this will create the half heart shape.
The next stage involves cutting neat slices of sushi grade tuna in order to cover the roll.
To get beautiful melt-in-the-mouth tuna, it’s important to cut the tuna correctly. Cut through the muscle fibre by cutting at a 90 degree angle to the fat lines (these are the silvery lines running through the tuna).
Press your fingers softly against the tuna and cut using a gentle single motion. The knife should be extremely sharp.
Cut 6 thin slices and gently layer them over the sushi roll, making sure the tuna covers the whole length of the roll. Use a bamboo mat to press the tuna into place and trim off any excess.
Place cling film over the roll and press in place using a bamboo mat. This will make it easier to cut the roll into individual pieces. In order to get a cleaner cut, wet your knife before cutting. Trim the ends off the roll.
Cut the roll in half. Then into quarters and then into eighths. This will ensure each piece is equal in size. Wipe down your knife each time you cut – this will ensure a clean cut each time.
After cutting, shape the roll back into place using your bamboo mat. Apply a gentle squeezing motion to ensure everything is kept neatly in place.
Remove the cling film and create a heart shape by placing two of the half-heart shaped pieces together.
Garnish your hearts by sprinkling silky egg yolk s over the top of the hearts. Head over to YouTube for a full silky egg yolk recipe.
Once the hearts are topped with the mixture, take your pink mayonnaise piping bag out of the fridge. Cut a small opening in the bottom of the bag.
Carefully pipe the mixture around the edge of the heart, creating a pink border.
To serve, gently slide onto suitable plate/board and add a pile of pickled ginger, a wasabi leaf and a decorative carrot butterfly. Serve with a generous bowl of soy sauce on the side.