Italian Sushi Rolls

My deep-rooted love of Italian flavors is constantly flooding my brain with new ways to explore classic ingredients. I also love sushi. Like most of my ideas, this one seems so obvious that looking back I cant believe this was the first time to try it. Using a little poetic license, I'm gonna call this experiment "Italian Sushi". Cheesy orzo, Italian sausage, roasted peppers, basil. It was easy, and it was awesome. These would make a great appetizer for a holiday party, get everyone laughing and telling you how super cool and creative you are.

First cook the sausage in some water, then drain the water and brown the sausage. I poured this water into a pot to use later for the orzo.

Onions in the pan that the sausage was browned in.

Then the orzo.

Slowly add water like you are making risotto. This will keep the pasta nice and starchy.

Thick and starchy. Very sticky.

Cheese makes it extra sticky. Put this in the fridge for about a half hour.

Prosciutto instead of nori.

The orzo next.

Roasted red peppers.

Perfect roll.

This roll cut very nicely too!

Yum.

The next one we made with some basil. This was 10 times better!

Soo tasty!

Dip into a simple marinara sauce.

To make the orzo extra starchy - cook some onions in a frying pan in oil. Add the orzo and toast for about 2 minutes. Add hot water slowly and keep stirring. Keep adding about a half cup of water every 2 minutes or so until the pasta is cooked. When it is cooked and the water is all cooked off, add about a half cup of cheese. I used Jack cheese.