With the abundance of produce in our CSA, one of my favorite things to make during the warmer months is fresh summer rolls. They’re way more interesting than salad, and the dipping sauces rival good vinaigrette.
Pining for those warmer months and missing my rolls, the other day I used winter ingredients (Swiss chard, sweet potato, and cabbage) to make winter ones. The results were just as delicious as their summer sisters, though I’m still longing for some warm weather!
Serve these with Creamy Peanut Sauce (see notes below) and/or Lime-Ginger Dipping Sauce.
Winter Rolls
by: Three Many Cooks
Serves: 32 rolls
Ingredients
- Salt
- 4 ounces rice vermicelli (rice sticks)
- 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2½- by ½-inch thick strips
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 bunch, (about12 ounce) Swiss chard, washed, stemmed, and torn into large pieces
- 2 cups purple cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 4 scallions, cut into 2½-inch lengths (quartered, if thick, halved if medium)
- 16 large sheets rice papers, plus a few extra for additional rolling
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add vermicelli; cook until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside.
- Place sweet potatoes in a large skillet along with ⅓ cup of water, a light sprinkling of salt, and the oil. Cover pan and turn burner on high heat. Cook until water evaporates and potatoes are just tender, about 5 minutes. Turn potatoes onto a plate and set aside.
- Prepare Swiss chard, cabbage, cilantro, and scallions for assembly. Fill a medium bowl with hot tap water.
- Working one at a time, lay a couple of pieces of Swiss chard leaves on a work surface. Top with a few pieces of sweet potato, followed a small portion of noodles, and a little cabbage, scallions, and cilantro (there really are no exact proportions here but like a burrito - you don't want to overstuff). Dip a sheet of rice paper in the warm water for about 5 seconds. Lay on work surface, and then transfer topped Swiss chard to lower third of the softened rice paper. Lift bottom of rice paper over filling and roll as tightly as possible to form a taut tube. If spring roll is not rolled as tightly as you like, roll it in a second soaked rice paper.
- Repeat with remaining rice paper and ingredients. (Can be covered with vegetable spray-coated plastic wrap and refrigerated for several hours.)
- When ready to serve, halve each spring roll on the diagonal and serve with Creamy Peanut Sauce (see below) and/or Lime-Ginger Dipping Sauce.
Notes
For dipping, make Creamy Peanut Sauce by mixing ¼ cup coconut milk, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons fresh finely grated ginger, ¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon Sriracha. If you feel like making a second dipping sauce, make Lime-Ginger Dipping Sauce.
I made these for dinner tonight, Maggy. Not only were they the perfect supper on this cold, snowy night, they also gave me hope that spring was on the way. Honestly you can wrap up almost whatever you want in rice paper
and dip it in one of those sauces, and it’ll taste great. (I didn’t have scallions and used a regular thin-sliced onion, and it was s’fine!)
Sometimes I really crave something a little lighter during the winter months, and this really fits the bill. Yum!