Celebrating the first full day of spring with these
FRESH VEGAN VEGETABLE SPRING ROLLS
Spring Rolls
- 22 cm rice paper wrappers
- 12 butter lettuce leaves
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
- 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1/4 head of red cabbage, sliced
- fresh mint leaves
- fresh basil leaves
- [peanut sauce]
Instructions
- Get your workspace organized. Fill a shallow, wide bowl with warm water. Lightly wet the surface of the cutting board. Place the vegetables on plates or bowls and get them close to your workspace. Have a large plate ready so that you can lay your finished spring rolls on top.
- Dip a rice paper wrapper into the bowl of water and circle the paper around so that the entire surface is moistened. Transfer the rice paper onto the wet board. Place a lettuce leaf on top of the rice paper. Then, lay the vegetables, mint, and basil on top, about 1/2 to 1 inch away from the bottom of the wrapper.
- Starting from the bottom of the wrapper, start rolling everything towards the middle. Fold the left and right sides of the wrapper towards the center, and finish rolling up the spring roll. Place the spring roll onto your spare plate and repeat for the remaining spring rolls. (NOTE: If you find that the wrappers are quite stiff, let it sit on your cutting board for an extra 10 to 15 seconds to soften. Then, roll up the spring rolls.)
- Serve the spring rolls with the peanut sauce (recipe here). The vegetable spring rolls are best consumed the day they are made.
Peanut Sauce:
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (use tamari if gluten free)
- 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, use a fork or whisk to mix all the ingredients together. The peanut butter will be quite stiff at the beginning, but do not worry. Just keep working it into the liquids. In a few minutes, the sauce will reach a creamy consistency.
- Use the peanut sauce as a dip for appetizers, a salad dressing, or a sauce for noodles! Refrigerate any leftover peanut sauce for up to a week.