Pressed Congrí-Inspired Sushi with Avocado and Roasted Pepper

Prepare the pepper and sofrito

1. Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Roast the whole red pepper for 25-30 minutes, turning it, until the skin is blistered and browned. Rest covered for 10 minutes, peel, and remove the stem and seeds. Drain, pat gently dry and cut into thin strips.

   

2. Heat the oil in a small skillet. Cook the onion, green pepper and garlic over medium-low heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring. Add the cumin and cook one more minute. It should be a fine, reduced sofrito with no free liquid; set aside.

Cook and season the rice

3. Check that the bean broth is strained and thin. Measure 150 ml of broth and 100 ml of water: together they make the 250 ml of cooking liquid. If you use canned beans, you can replace both with 100 ml of their strained liquid and 150 ml of water; reduce the salt if necessary. Measure the 80 g of drained beans separately.
4. Wash the rice in several changes of water until the water runs almost clear. Drain well and place it in a heavy-bottomed pot with the 250 ml of measured liquid. If your rice package gives a different amount of liquid for absorption cooking, follow that instruction and adjust the water; the bean broth is part of the total and is not added separately. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
5. Cover the pot, bring to a gentle boil and reduce to the lowest heat. Cook for 12-14 minutes without lifting the lid; turn off the heat and rest covered for 12 minutes. The grains should be cooked and cohesive, keeping their shape.
6. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the vinegar over gentle heat. Transfer the hot rice to a wide shallow dish and mix in the dressing with cutting motions. Carefully fold in the sofrito and the drained beans without crushing them. Let the rice lose its excess heat while you prepare the mold.

   

Press and cut

7. Line a rectangular mold of about 20 × 12 cm with food-safe plastic wrap, leaving overhang on both sides. Spread the barely warm rice in an even layer with no gaps, especially in the corners. Cover with the wrap and place a lid or flat base on top that covers almost the whole surface. Press firmly and evenly, without crushing the grains. Keep the base resting under a light, evenly distributed weight during the 10-minute rest, while you prepare the avocado.

   

8. Peel and cut the avocado into thin slices; moisten them lightly with the lemon juice. Open the wrap, arrange the avocado and the drained pepper strips over the rice, and cover again and settle gently, without crushing the toppings.

   

9. Unmold using the wrap, then remove it. Use a sharp, slightly moistened knife. Divide the 20 cm side into 6 parts and the 12 cm side into 4, to obtain 24 pieces of approximately 3.3 × 3 cm. Make the first cut carefully and check the cohesion before continuing. Hold the topping gently in place and clean and moisten the blade between cuts, without dragging it from side to side.

   

10. Serve the freshly cut pieces. If a piece opens when lifted, use a thin spatula to move it to the plate and avoid compressing the rice any further until it turns into a paste.