A trendy twist on tradition, these Quinoa Sushi Rolls make for a great tasty snack or even a healthy packed lunch option. Fill with your favourite sushi fillings – three of my favourite filling suggestions below.

Why didn’t I think of this myself??

I mean this quinoa sushi would have been right up my alley. You know, inventive and quirky. Nevertheless, the credit is not mine to take.

It’s Donna Hay’s actually. As part of the winning EDB3 photography contest prize pack I received a collection of 10 new cookbooks thanks to the generous sponsorship by Harper Collins publishers. Amongst their many fabulous titles – can’t wait to cook from Rachel Allen’s Cake and read Nigel Slater’s latest Kitchen Diaries II tome by the way, I found Donna Hay’s new Fresh and Light and got flicking.

Now, Donna Hay needs little introduction. She is Australia’s queen of sophisticated yet simple style in both her recipes and food styling. Both her bi-monthly magazine and cookbooks are selling better than hot cakes.

A few years back, before I even began blogging, I had the pleasure of attending an intimate dinner event for the launch of her No Time to Cook cookbook. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to take a sneak peek at where all the action happens – Donna’s Surry Hills studio and taste kitchen. I was mesmerised by the amount of cute, vintage props and food styling paraphernalia and, of course, Donna’s simple approach to making food taste good. I was hooked and have been collecting her cookbooks ever since!

Some say that since she’s not a trained chef she should not be categorized as such, but hey, if she can teach an average home cook about preparing fresh, tasty food why should we judge? Her passion and experience are just as good, in my books, as any piece of paper. And the food looks good too!

Since I’ve been wanting to introduce the kids to sushi, discovering this quinoa sushi roll recipe was the perfect opportunity to try. They loved it! The quinoa which they already adore and crunchy fresh veggies made up for the “green seaweed skin”. Perhaps I omitted the word seaweed, but nevertheless they liked it and so did I.

The following recipe has been adapted from Donna Hay’s Fresh and Light cookbook. I have played with my own fillings and have omitted sugar and mirin from the quinoa base – if you don’t cook much Japanese food, mirin could be a wasteful purchase. I’ve also added some almonds and seeds to the mix!

For more Quinoa Inspirations check out my top 5 picks:

Quinoa and Pea Spice Croquettes by Sneh Roy

Quinoa Stuffing by Marla Meridith

Quinoa Payasam by Reshmi Mahesh

Smoked Trout Quinoa and Pumpkin Salad by John Bek

Raw Edible Quinoa Cookie Dough by me