One of my favorite ways to use and eat fresh vegetables is spring rolls! I just love the taste bud sensation of cool rice paper wrappers crammed with a vibrant explosion of flavor. Since my garden is overflowing with radishes, snap peas, cilantro, and assorted greens, I can think of no better way to use them then this dish. It takes some time to chop and assemble but it's worth the effort. Spring rolls have become a regular craving for me.
My spring roll ingredient list is never the same twice. You can add in any cooked meat or seafood you like, but I prefer them vegetarian style. I start with romaine, spinach, chard, or a combination of large leafy greens for an inner wrap to contain the rest of the veggies. I actually used a few young beet leaves the last time I made these, having pleasantly mistaken nearby beet greens for ruby chard while picking in the garden.
Next, I chop vegetables into short thin sticks or smallish pieces. Cucumbers, radish, snap peas, carrots, cabbage, and celery all lend a terrific crunch. I sometimes add raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, avocados and or nuts as well. Sometimes I add rice noodles prepared as directed. Often I get so excited about the vegetables that I forget the noodles.
To top things off I add fresh ginger shavings, a bit of cilantro and minced garlic or onion. Cilantro gives the roll a nice punch, though this is one herb I add sparingly, much to the dismay of my oldest daughter, who would sneak more cilantro in if she were standing by. Finally I add a hint of dressing which can be a lemon honey vinegrette or an asian style dressing. For dipping, I like to use hoisen sauce jazzed up with some wasabi and ginger, but you can also use soy sauce or any asian style dressing or dipping sauce.
Assembling the rolls can be a bit of a challenge. I wet two rice paper circles well, and set them on a cutting board. The wet rice paper will quickly soften into a cool moist flexible wrapper. Next I lay a large leaf or two of romaine or other greens on top the rice paper to help contain the rest of the veggies. Then I drop a few peices of each of my remaining ingredients in the center of the leaf. Usually I put too much stuff in and have to go back and remove something or else I end up with a ripped and bulging roll which tastes fine but looks unimpressive.
When I get the insides just right, I begin on one end carefully rolling both the rice paper and the leaf wrapper together over the inner ingredients. I tuck the sides into the roll just before I get to the halfway point of rolling. If I try to wet more than two rice papers at a time, I find they get too soft for me to roll them easily. I don't have restaurant style neatness and conformity on my finished spring rolls yet, but then good gardeners are seldom perfectionists. Finally I slice the rolls in half on the diagonal to get a colorful presentation on the plate. Any goofed up rolls get gobbled down by me in the back room! Left over cut up vegetables get tossed into a stir fry or a salad the next day.
Spring rolls are a fun way to use vegetables and a great way to experiment with some new ingredients. You can find rice papers, hoisen sauce and anything else you need in the asian section of most large grocery stores. With any luck you will find yourself developing a new craving for colorful crunchy spring rolls all year long!
