FUSHI-Finnish "sushi"

In the summer there's plenty of nettles everywhere. For a lot of people it's a pest but for me it's free food. Nettles are really healthy and can be used in most ways that spinach could be used, just remember to cover your hands with gloves so they don't burn.

I picked some nettles and came up with this crazy idea to make sushi with them instead of using the nori seaweed. I then thought about the idea a bit more and wanted to use ingredients that are common in Finnish cuisine. They turned out great and now I call them FUSHI.

Pick nettles...for this bigger leaves are better.
Blanche the nettles in boiling water quickly till they turn a bit brighter in color. This way they will also stop burning and will be easier to handle.
Dry the leaves on a kitchen towel and spread them onto some cling film creating what looks like a nori sheet used for making maki rolls.
Now you can fill them with whatever you like.
I filled mine with smoked salmon, chargrilled whitefish, crayfish, boiled egg, herring, dill, chives, cured salmon etc. Just mix and match like you would when making sushi :)

This one is filled with Matjes Herring, egg and Nubberöra

Here I'm torching or chargrilling the Whitefish

This roll is filled with crayfish, smoked salmon, mayo, sour cream and chives

I even made some to look like nigiris using boiled new potatoes with a bit of Chargrilled whitefish, smetana (sour cream), whitefish roe and dill on top.

Instead of the Gari ginger I pickled some cucumbers.
Peel the cucumbers. With a mandolin or vegetable peeler, create thin strips that resemble the thinly sliced ginger. Pour some rice wine vinegar on top and add sugar.

Also for the dipping sauce which normally would be soy sauce I made a vibrant green dill oil. Just add a bunch of dill in the blender and cover with a bit of rapeseed oil. Blend until really rich in color and finely chopped.

I think these are superb! I hope you like these too!

Here are some more hints on what I put in my rolls:

Sugar salted salmon roll:
cut a nice piece of salmon lengthwise in the size of a maki roll
cover with Seasalt and sugar (50% each) and leave for a couple of hours
Rinse the salmon from salt and sugar and pat dry with a towel.
Lay the Nettles like a Nori mat and roll around the piece of salmon.
Cut into slices and serve.
You could even chargrill the salmon a bit or roast on a dry pan quickly, still keeping the salmon nice and raw.

Crayfish and salmon roll:
Mix warm smoked salmon with a bit of Mayo and smetana (sour cream) to make a paste
Spread onto the nettle leaf mat.
Cover with crayfish tails and chives.
Roll tight.

Herring roll Nubberöra:
I used marinated Matjes herring (it's a bit pickled and quite salty and sweet)
Cut part of the herring filé into long strips.
Chop the rest into dices and mix with smetana (a rich sour cream), some red onion and dill.
Boil an egg..hardboiled
Chop the egg whites and yolk separately. even try to make the whites into strips.
Spread the herring and sour cream mix onto the leaves.
Lay the herring strips and egg on top and roll.

I also filled one with Charred whitefish and egg and chives.
and one with Grav lax (cured salmon) and cucumber and dill.

"Nigiris"
Boiled new potatoes
Chargrilled/ torched whitefish
Smetana
Whitefish roe
Sprig of dill


Why don't you try ingredients typical for your country! Just go wild! :)

I'm sorry I don't have exact amounts on the ingredients but I still thought this was a nice idea to share with you guys :)