Among the most revisited recipes in the world, with every kind of variation and national or local adaptation, there is undoubtedly our beloved Pizza. Among the most extravagant, at least according to our Mediterranean tastes, there is the exotic Hawaiian pizza with margherita and ham base and slices of pineapple in syrup like condiments, invented in Canada, but globally famous. But there is another Canadian version of the pizza, less known by us, but equally popular in America. It is about sushi-pizza. This Japanese-Italic dish, a pizza-shaped finger food sushi, was probably invented in Toronto in the 90s, but has gradually conquered other cities and even other countries, becoming a food trend and undergoing further variations compared to the original recipe.

The Canadian recipe that pays homage to Italy and Japan

For a long time there was discussion abroad about who had been the inventor of the "pizza sushi" in the 90s. Although a cook at the Atami Sushi Restaurant in Montreal, Quebec, claimed to have created him in 1992, the most accredited version attests that it was invented by Kaoru Ohsada, of the Nami restaurant in Toronto. Even today, on the menu and on the site of the Nami, considered one of the best restaurants in the city for over 30 years, this record is proudly reported. A few years ago the chef, originally from Kobe, Japan, told the local newspaper the story of how this original dish was conceived by him. Oshada was working at Nami in the early 90s, when he decided to do some experiments starting from the sushi ingredients. Taking inspiration from the appearance of one of the dishes then on the menu, or potato pancakes covered with smoked salmon, he decided to create some crispy discs made with leftover rice for fried sushi and to season them with salmon, onions and tobiko (flying fish roe). The recipe was well received by diners, surprised by the originality of this sushi-pizza, as well as by the owners of the premises, glad that the advanced rice could be used in such a useful and creative way. Some time later Ohsada decided to improve his creation by adding a thread of spicy mayonnaise, one soy-wasabi sauce and a side dish of red and black flying fish roe.

Sushi-pizza today

Ohsada's sushi-pizza is still the main dish of the Nami; sold for $ 16, it is still prepared according to the original recipe. The only change made concerns the shape: if once the discs of sushi were similar to small pizzas, now a single disc cut into 6 slices, just like a classic round pizza. This recipe has achieved such success to be with time adopted by other Japanese or Hawaiian restaurants around the world. One of the most popular and popular variants today is that the rice is spread on black triangular nori seaweed sheets, rolled on one side to recreate the effect of the pizza cornice and covered with fresh fish and other typical sushi classic ingredients. More modern sushi-pizza recipes they involve the use of a different type of fish than salmon, such as sliced ​​tuna or crab, and the addition of different seasonings including avocado, crispy fried onions and pickled ginger.

Photo: Sushi pizza canada_Wikimedia_Quinn Dombrowski.jpg