Summer Rolls

“Summer rolls are a great healthy snack that look very appetising with the bright colours of the veg showing through the paper. The chilli sauce is a must-have recipe which can go alongside many other dishes too. Store bought chilli sauce is full of refined sugar whereas my version is very healthy but just as tasty. ”

Prep time - 20 minutes

Cook time - 0 minutes

Difficulty - Easy

Serves / makes - 8 rolls

Ingredients - sauce

This makes more than you will need but it will keep for a few weeks and can be used in other recipes)

1 red chilli (increase or decrease depending on your heat preference)

1 inch ginger root

Juice of 1/2 a lime

2 medjool dates (you can use other dates but if they are hard or dry soak in warm water for 10 minutes)

120ml water

Equipment

Chopper attachment of a hand blender or food processor

Method

Roughly chop the chilli and ginger.
Put the chilli, ginger, lime juice and dates into the chopper attachment of a hand blender or food processor.
Blend until the ingredients are cut into small pieces. Add half the water and blend again. Add the rest of the water and blend again until smooth.

Ingredients - Rolls

8 small rice paper wrappers

3 small round radish, finely sliced

1 carrot, finely sliced

1 handful baby spinach

1 courgette, peeled and made into noodles with a Thai peeler

1 handful mint leaves

1 handful coriander leaf

1 sheet of nori (sushi paper) cut into 8 long strips

Equipment

Cup of water

2 teatowels

Method

Prepare all of the vegetables and herbs, lay them out on a few plates with a cup of water and a tea towel.
Select a bowl that is the same size or bigger than the rice paper wrappers. Fill the bowl with water.
Get a second tea towel, dampen with water and wring it out. Lay it flat on the surface you will be working on.
For each roll do the following......Soak a rice paper wrapper in water for 30 seconds. When it has softened a little lift it out, let the water drip off it, put it on the dampened tea towel.
You will now place the other ingredients in the paper but you need to place the, in the right place.
Imagine the paper is a face, the ingredients go where the smile would be......but we don't want a big smile, we want a small straight smile :-|
You can pile the ingredients up in whatever order you would like. If you put the radish on first and the carrot on last, this makes it a bit easier to roll as it and firmer sides.
Once your ingredients are on the paper fold the bottom over the ingredients. Then fold each side over and continue to roll up.
Wrap a strip of nori around the roll, dampening the edge so that it sticks. Place onto your serving plate, serve immediately.