California Roll Sandwich

I'll give Einstein Bros Bagels credit for this one.  Recently, they had a California Lox sandwich.  It was pretty much this, but lox instead of crab.  It always made me want sushi afterwards.  The bagel was a bit much, but putting the ingredients of a California roll on slices of white bread turns this into a tea sandwich.  Party or not, I'm still thinking about things that would go well at tea.  Besides, my pickling cucumbers were ripening, and I had left a carrot in the ground for this.

This sandwich is all in the prep.  It's very easy to make, but there are a lot of layers.  Kind of a cucumber sandwich on steroids.  You could even substitute this for the regular cucumber sandwich at a tea.  Subbing in portobello mushroom or tofu for the crab makes it vegetarian.

I did skip the seaweed in a regular California roll.  I couldn't figure out how to get some in each bite without it becoming tough.  Sushi is a one-bite deal, but even a finger sandwich is at least two bites.  The bread was too soft to hold things together once the crust was cut off, so I would suggest a very light toasting first.

2" length of cucumber (or 1 pickling cucumber)
2" length of carrot
*1/2 C rice vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1/2 C whipped cream cheese
*1 Tb wasabi powder
*1 Tb pickled ginger
1 large avocado
4 oz crab meat (I used leg-style fake crab)
8 slices white bread
toasted sesame seeds for garnish

1.  The day before, peel carrot and cucumber (also remove seeds from cucumber).  Slice thinly into matchsticks.  In a bowl, combine rice vinegar and sugar.  Warm in the microwave to dissolve the sugar.  Stir in cucumber and carrot pieces until submerged.  Refrigerate until needed.

2.  In a small bowl, add 1 Tb water to wasabi powder. Finely chop ginger and stir into wasabi.  Add cream cheese and beat with a spoon until smooth.  Your eyes should water slightly, but it will mellow out in a few minutes.  Refrigerate until needed.

3.  Mash avocado pulp with a fork until mostly smooth.  If not using immediately, beat in a tsp of lemon juice or rice vinegar and seal with plastic wrap before refrigerating.  The last of the prep is to open the package of crab (or krab) and separate the flakes along the natural grain.

4.  To assemble, lay out the bread slices.  On the bottom half, spread the wasabi cream cheese.  On the top, spread the avocado pulp.  Drain the pickle mixture and spread the carrot and cucumber over the cream cheese.  Distribute the crab meat on top of that.  Sprinkle with sesame as a garnish, then top with avocado half of bread.  Cut off crusts if desired and cut into finger sandwich sizes.  Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 hours before they start to get stale.

Makes 4 sandwiches, 16 hors d'oeuvres servings

Difficulty rating  :)