Ease of Preparation: Easy
Time of Preparation: 12-15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Crisp, crunchy rice paper rolls of various fruits and veggies are a treat to be savored! Earthy beet, sweet peppers, juicy mango, buttery avocado, and fragrant herbs all shine, especially when paired with a smooth peanut dipping sauce!
Ingredients:
Peanut Sauce:
- ½ cup (120 ml) smooth peanut butter
- 2 ½ tablespoons (37.5 ml) tamari soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) maple syrup
- 1 ½ limes, juice
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) sambal oelek
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) grated fresh ginger
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) water, to thin
Salad Rolls:
8-10 rice spring roll wrappers
- 1 head Boston bibb lettuce, leaves
- red beet, matchsticks (rinsed well to prevent colour bleeding)
- yellow, orange, and red pepper, seeded and sliced thin
- carrot, matchsticks, (multicoloured?)
- mango, sliced
- shredded purple cabbage
- avocado, thin slices
- herb mix: torn leaves from 1 bunch each mint, cilantro, and basil
To serve:
- Peanut Sauce
- Lime wedges
Method:
For the Peanut Sauce:
In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, tamari, maple, lime, chili-garlic sauce, and ginger. Add the water a bit at a time to achieve a thick but pourable consistency.
Reserve for plating, cover and refrigerate if not using right away.
For the Salad Rolls:
If desired, heat water until fairly warm, ‘tap hot’, or even cold is fine, it will take longer for the wrappers to soften. Cold water will produce a less sticky wrapper.
Add hot water to a large shallow dish and submerge the rice papers, one at a time, to soften for about 10-20 seconds. Check often and be careful, over-softening may lead to tearing and a less attractive presentation.
Once soft, transfer to a clean, slightly damp surface and gently smooth out into a circle.
To build the rolls, arrange a leaf of bibb lettuce over the wrapper, followed by an assortment of bright colourful veggies and fruit over the center of the paper, followed by the mixed herbs. Do not over fill.
Fold the sides over, then fold over the end and roll the paper around the filling into a nice cigar, close the wrap over itself.
Cover the finished roll with a damp towel to keep it from drying out while preparing the other rolls.
Repeat for each of the wrappers until the fillings have been used up, alternating the colour selection for each roll.
Cut the rolls in half and present with cut sides up to show off the array of gorgeous colours.
Serve fresh, at room temperature, with the Peanut Sauce alongside for dipping and lime wedges for spritzing.
