Orzo Sushi Rolls

More About This Recipe

• I mentioned last week that a hobby of mine was turning things into mac and cheese, and turning mac and cheese into other things.
  
  Back when I was first starting out as a recipe blogger I wrote a recipe where I took a box of mac and cheese and turned it into sushi.
  
  It’s funny how, why, and when people find things on the Internet, because this old post of mine sat around unseen for about a year. Then suddenly it started to pick up steam, appearing on StumbleUpon, Reddit, Digg, and Buzzfeed. It was going viral! After that, some high profile news and food sites posted about it. Some adventurous bloggers even re-created the recipe for vegans.
  
  The whole experience was a lot of fun, and it got me thinking about what other pasta I could make sushi out of. This orzo version takes flavors that everyone is comfortable with and presents them in a new, imaginative way.
  
  Onions first, followed by the orzo. You cook the orzo like risotto, slowly adding water and stirring until it’s fully cooked. This keeps all the starches clinging to the pasta and makes it really sticky.
  
  The first round of water has evaporated.
  
  Halfway through, it’s getting nice and sticky.
  
  After it’s done, kill the heat and add cheese.
  
  All the fillings. You could put anything you want into these!
  
  Prosciutto on the sushi roller, followed by the pasta.
  
  I filled this one with shrimp and olives.
  
  Roll it up! Yum: sausage and red pepper.
  
  Then you slice it into sushi-sized pieces. This tastes great on its own, but is better dipped in tomato sauce or balsamic vinegar.
  
  Be aware that getting the pasta right is crucial to the recipe, and also not very easy. It helps to have sushi rolling experience to pull this recipe off. When you get it right though, it tastes great and looks even better!
  
  Dan Whalen thinks you’ve made it in the food world when someone “veganizes” one of your recipes. He has been blogging for over 3 years at The Food In My Beard; check Dan’s Tablespoon profile often to try his recipes with creative international spins!