Causa Estilo Orugas

Western-Style Caterpillar Causa Roll with Crab, Cucumber, & Avocado

The caterpillar roll was created by a Los Angeles sushi chef several years back, supposedly using the only ingredients he had in the kitchen. I’m not going to pretend that making a sushi roll look like a caterpillar and stuffing it with imitation crab is traditional or even counts as sushi, but I’ve always appreciated anyone who can invent something new from whatever is in front of them. This is my Peruvian causa version, with a potato base and fresh crabmeat.

I roll the causa like sushi, but if you don’t have a sushi mat, you can make one from two kitchen staples: paper towels and plastic wrap (sidebar follows).

1 Lightly toss together the crab, shallots, lime juice, and salt in a small bowl. Refrigerate the filling while you prepare the rest of the causa, or for up to 4 to 5 hours.

2 Cut the ends off the cucumber and halve lengthwise. Lay one half of the cucumber on a work surface, cut side down, and cut it into 8 to 10 long, thin strips lengthwise. Save the second half for snacking.

3 Cut off both ends of the avocado. Halve it lengthwise, remove the pit, and carefully peel off the skin. Be careful not to bruise the flesh. Lay the halves, cut side down, on a work surface and cut each half crosswise into very thin (⅛ -inch-wide) slices. Lay two 8-inch-long pieces of plastic wrap on your work surface. Use the blade of a chef’s knife to pick up one row of sliced avocado and place it on one sheet of plastic wrap. Gently press down on the avocado slices with your fingers so they fan out about 6 inches in a straight line, like the arms of a Japanese folding-paper fan. Fold the plastic wrap over the avocado. Do the same with the second avocado half.

4 Place a large piece of plastic wrap over your sushi mat so it hangs over the mat’s edges by 3 to 4 inches on all sides. Toward the bottom of the sushi mat, spread ½ cup of the causa base into a rectangle about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide. Spread half of the crab filling (a generous ½ cup) about 1 inch from the bottom of the causa rectangle and shape the filling into a 2-inch-wide strip across the length of the causa (stop just before you hit the edges). Lay 4 or 5 strips of cucumber along the top side of the filling.

5 Starting at the bottom, use the sushi mat to roll up the sushi snugly like a cigar. When you get to the top of the roll, squeeze the roll together gently but firmly (you don’t want to break the sushi roll). Unroll the mat, pick up one fanned avocado, and place it, plastic wrap side facing down, in the palm of your hand. Flip the plastic wrap upside down on top of the causa roll so the avocado slices cover the top of the roll. Use the mat or your hands to firmly “hug” the avocados onto the roll so they adhere. Slice the roll into 5 or 6 pieces. Make a second roll with the remaining ingredients, and serve both rolls inmediatamente.

DIY Sushi Mat

If you don’t have a sushi mat, you can rig up one at home with paper towels and plastic wrap. One of my sous chefs, who had spent a lot of time in sushi restaurants, taught me this clever technique.

To make a sushi mat: Lay out a very big sheet of plastic wrap, about 2½ feet long, on a work surface. Neatly stack six paper towels (full, not half-size, sheets) one on top of another. Place the stacked towels a few inches from the bottom left corner of the plastic wrap. Fold the bottom of the plastic wrap up over the towels to partially cover them, then fold the left edge of the plastic wrap inward to cover the left edge of the paper towels. Put your right hand in the center of the towels and, with your left hand holding the plastic-covered left edge, flip them over onto the plastic wrap so they are completely covered. Keep flipping the towels forward, working down the line of plastic wrap, until you run out of plastic wrap. Run your hands across the plastic-wrapped towels to press out any air, and securely fold in the top and side edges.