These fresh and fragrant rolls are a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet. Kids love to help make these too! For a more filling variation you can include steamed shrimp, leftover chicken, pork or even tofu in with the vegetables.
Serves 4 as an appetizer
*Vegan and Gluten Free, Omnivore Variation Available
*Note My favorite (and sturdiest!) brand of rice paper wrapper is Three Ladies.
Ingredients:
Marinated Carrots
- 1 cup of julienned carrots, about 2 medium
- 2 Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar
- 1 to 2 Teaspoons of Siracha (Chili Garlic Sauce)
Combine these three ingredients and set aside to marinate. This can be done 24 hours in advance.
- 1 Ripe avocado sliced thinly
- ½ red pepper, julienned
- 1 cup of cucumber, julienned
- ½ cup of Basil leaves
- ½ cup of Mint leaves
- 1 cup of mixed baby lettuces or other salad greens.
- 1 package of Spring Roll Wrappers, preferably Three Ladies brand.
Procedure:
- Dip the wrappers in warm water to soften.
- On a clean cutting surface, place the damp wrapper.
- In the center of the wrapper, place a couple of basil and mint leaves.
- Top with cucumber, avocado, salad greens, red pepper and marinated carrots.
- Fold the bottom half of the wrapper up and over the filling. Fold the sides in towards center and roll up.
Wine Pairing: I love serving these for cocktail hour along with a glass of Champagne or Sparkling wine. On a hot summer day a chilled Rose would also be an excellent choice.
Guest Writer – Phoebe Schilla
Phoebe dreamed of going to cooking school as a young child, and when she was 19, she was given the opportunity to study at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. Needless to say she jumped at the chance and hasn’t looked back since. After her return from France she continued her education working in restaurants, and eventually found herself back in Culinary School, this time at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. She spent two years there, and graduated with an AOS degree in the culinary arts.
The Cordon Bleu and the CIA couldn’t be more different. The two educational styles complemented each other and gave her a well rounded education. As a result, she knows a lot of minutiae about the culinary arts and feels comfortable cooking just about anything. There is nothing that pleases her more than to make something beautiful and fragrant to eat. This is what she was meant to do, and she loves sharing her cooking skills and knowledge with others.
More information and recipes can be found on Phoebe’s website, Studio of Good Living!