Kurumiae Hourensou Maki - Spinach Roll with Walnut Dressing

First recipe! Something unassuming and pretty plain sounding, but really quite delicious! I was feeling homesick for Japan after teaching a bunch of classes about season during the week, and over the weekend it was my brother-in-law's birthday so I decided to put together a little autumn/winter Japanese feast for a family lunch on Sunday afternoon.

Of course spinach is a spring vegetable, however the winters in Brisbane are so mild that we don't even get close to Japanese winter. The winter weather is pretty close to the spring weather in Miyagi so I figured I could get away with a bastard-hybrid spread. Because I was also including my special Ponzu Karaage and some Shogayaki in the day's spread, I felt I needed a bit more green stuff to counter all the meat!

In Japan, Hourensou no Kurumiae is a spring salad dish. My version can be enjoyed any time of year, and has a little presentation twist on the Japanese original.

Ingredients
Makes 4 Serves

• 500g Fresh Spinach
• 1/2 Cup Walnuts (shelled)
  
• 2 tbs Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 3-4 tbs Water

Method

1. First of all, make the sauce. Crush walnuts with the flat of knife or a mortar and pestle. We don't want a powder, just small pieces the size of a rice grain or two.
2. Combine soy sauce, walnuts and sugar with a little water into a sauce. Put aside for later.
   
3. Cut off the base and woody stems of the spinach - these are really bitter and we want to enjoy the lovely sweetness of the leaves.
4. Plunge into boiling water - cook for about a minute or until the leaves are just about to wilt.
5. Drain from boiling water. Run under cold water to stop cooking. Squeeze out as much water with your hands as possible.
6. Form a sausage shape as cylindrical as possible, about 3-4 centimetres diameter.
   
7. With a clean, smooth tea towel squeeze out as much water from the spinach sausage as you can. You may need to repeat a few times.
8. With a sharp non-serrated knife, cut segments about 3-4 centimetres in length. Reform into cylinders again if need be (presentation, presentation!)
9. Dress with walnut sauce and serve!

Cooking Notes

• I found that the longer I left the sauce, the more it absorbed the liquid and became gel like. I added another tablespoon or two of water just prior to serving to make it runny again.
• 500g of raw spinach looks like an awful lot but it cooks down to very little - don't be afraid!
  
• I haven't tried this with frozen spinach, only fresh - I imagine it would be possible with frozen but I don't know how well it would form.
• Be really careful not to over cook the spinach - it will stew if you're not careful. The idea is to just cook out a little of the chlorophyll from the leaves - it is the main bitter agent.
• Don't skimp on the sauce if your guests aren't familiar with spinach