I adore Vietnamese spring rolls and I make them regularly with classic ingredients. I usually dip them in soy sauce with chilli and sesame oil, only this time I decided to prepare them with an Italian touch and a special dip sauce prepared with tomato puree and balsamic vinegar.
For the filling I chose grilled chicken, shrimp, raw red beetroots, spring onions and cucumber.
Of course you can use other vegetables like thinly sliced red and yellow bell pepper, raw courgette/zucchini, avocado, tomato, raw wild spinach leaves and so on.
FOR VEGETARIAN & VEGAN OPTIONS: use mozzarella, grilled halloumi, grilled smoked tofu, jackfruit, coarsely smashed chickpeas (hummus might be too soft), tempeh and seitan.
Try them and let me know what you think!
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Mediterranean spring rolls
Yields about 12 rolls
Ingredients:
ROLLS
1 chicken breast of approx. 200 gr.
e.v. olive oil
salt
black pepper
5-6 spring onions
1 medium carrot
2 medium raw beetroots, peeled
½ cucumber
100 gr. peeled shrimp, cooked
a small bunch of fresh mint
a few sprigs of fresh basil
a pack of Vietnamese rice paper for spring rolls (Ø approx. 22 cm)
DIPPING SAUCE
8 tbsp. full-fat yogurt
3 tbsp. concentrated tomato paste
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
salt
black pepper
1 sprig fresh mint, finely chopped, only the leaves
1 sprig fresh basil, finely chopped, only the leaves
Optional: chilli flakes
You will also need a grilling pan for the chicken and a big bowl to briefly soak the rice paper.
Brush the chicken breast with a little olive oil and grill it on both sides until well cooked and nicely striped.
Let the chicken rest and cool on a plate, then season it with salt and pepper and cut into thin strips.
Cut the carrot, the cucumber, the beetroot and the spring onions into long, thin strips (julienne) .
Briefly dip a sheet of rice paper in the bowl filled with cold water and place it on a chopping board.
Lay some chicken and mixed vegetables in the middle of the rice paper, with a few mint and basil leaves here and there.
Roll up the rice paper and make sure you fold the sides well so that the filling stays inside.
Proceed to make half of the rolls with shrimp and half with the grilled chicken.
Prepare the sauce by stirring all the ingredients together and use to dip the rolls in it.
Enjoy!
