Nothing says summer to me more than summer rolls!
The trend is to roll your ingredients only in rice paper wrappers but I like to double roll in lettuce as well. I love the freshness and the crunch that lettuce brings to these wraps. These rolls are perfect for summer picnics or boat trips and by wrapping them in parchment paper, it makes it so much easier to take with you.
You can use whatever ingredients you want… go for it- be creative! This recipe is only a guideline to some of my favourite combinations.
My only advice to you is to apply “Mise En Place“, which is a French term meaning “to get all your ingredients in place and organised before you start”.
Bon appetite!
You’ll need
- 4 x very large soft lettuce leaves (Romaine or Butter)
- 4 x large rice paper wrappers (I used the large round ones)
- 1 x medium carrot, julienned
- ½ cup x red cabbage, very thinly sliced (optional)
- ½ x avocado, thinly sliced
- 10cm x piece of cucumber, julienned
- 2 x spring onions, halved lengthways and sliced in half
- ½ x mango, thinly sliced
- 4 x slices of ham (optional)
- Handful of fresh basil
- Parchment paper
Method
- First start by preparing all your ingredients. Slice it and arrange it on a plate ready for assembly.
- If there is a membrane in your lettuce, turn them topside facing down and bash the centre membrane with the flat side of a knife to flatten and soften them. (you might have to use two per roll if the lettuce leaves are not big enough)
- Soak one rice paper wrapper at a time into a bowl of warm water until it softens, about 15 seconds.
- Put rice paper on a counter or cutting board.
- First place down your lettuce leave about 3cm away from the edge of the rice paper closest to you and about the same on the sides. (the reason I use the bigger rice paper wraps is because its easier to tuck everything in tightly)
- Arrange the vegetables and basil in the centre of the lettuce horizontally.
- Wrap like a burrito, fold top over and push ingredients back and then the left and right sides towards the middle. Fold over, tuck and roll delicately but firmly.
- Place the roll in parchment paper and roll up like a sausage and twist the ends to tighten.
- Slice the wrap through the parchment paper in half, serve immediately.
- Alternatively, don't slice it in half yet. Pack it into your cooler box, go for a boat ride or picnic and simply unwrap and enjoy with a glass of wine.
Serve with my Easy Thai Peanut sauce. See recipe on my website.