Taste of Olney

It is never a good time to have COVID-19 but when
Danny left me a sample of these cool and delicious
spring rolls with fragrant peanut sauce, I could not have
been more grateful for a dish that calmed my fever and
stimulated my dulled sense of smell and taste buds.
The great thing about these spring rolls, which require
a minimum of preparation and no cooking (except
for the vermicelli – which can be made ahead), is
the filling is left entirely up to each chef. Danny used
leaf lettuce, basil, cilantro, purple cabbage, cucumber,
avocado, vermicelli, mint, and zucchini to create his
version. He cut the cucumber and zucchini into matchsticks
and roughly chopped the rest before swaddling
them in rice paper.
The peanut sauce recipe uses basic pantry ingredients:
peanut butter, rice vinegar, tamari or soy sauce,
honey or maple syrup, toasted sesame oil and fresh garlic.
Making spring rolls for the first time can seem
daunting but is a three-step process:
Step 1: Place a few pieces of lettuce about one-third
from the bottom of the circular wrapper. Leave a couple
of inches open on the two sides for wrapping purposes.
Step 2: Gently pull the bottom of the wrapper up
and over the lower portion of the filling. Compress the
fillings slightly as you roll upwards to keep the fillings
in place.
Step 3: Pull each side over to enclose the filling.
Continue wrapping upward until your spring roll is fully
wrapped.
This recipe, based on a spring roll recipe from the
Cookie and Kate website, makes 8 spring rolls. All ingredients
are available at Stewart’s Food Store.
Ingredients:
Spring Rolls
2 oz rice vermicelli
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 cup torn lettuce, ribs removed
1 cup very thinly sliced red or purple cabbage
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
or sliced into strips with a julienne peeler
1 small cucumber, thinly sliced or sliced into strips
with a julienne peeler
2 medium jalapeños, ribs and seeds removed, thinly
sliced
¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh mint
8 sheets rice paper (spring roll wrappers)
Peanut Sauce
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tbp toasted sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 to 3 tbsp water, as needed
Preparation:
Spring Rolls:
Step 1: Cook the noodles according to package directions
until al dente. Drain, rinse them under cool
water, and return them to the pot. Off the heat, toss
the noodles with the sesame oil and salt, and set aside.
Step 2: Fill a shallow pan with an inch of water.
Fold a lint-free kitchen towel in half and place it next
to the dish. Make sure your prepared fillings are within
reach. Combine the green onion, cilantro and mint in a
small bowl, and stir.
Step 3: Place one rice paper in the water and let
it rest for about 20 seconds until the sheet is pliable.
Lay it flat on the towel. Leaving about 1 inch of open
rice paper around the edges, cover the lower third of the paper with a few pieces of lettuce, followed by a small amount of noodles, cabbage, and carrot, cucumber and jalapeño. Sprinkle in the herb mix.

Step 4: Fold the lower edge up over the fillings, rolling upward just until the filling is compactly enclosed. Fold over the short sides like you would to make a burrito. Lastly, roll it up. Repeat 7 more times.

Peanut Sauce: Step 1: In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, rice vinegar, tamari, honey, sesame oil, and garlic. Whisk in 2 to 3 tablespoons water until the mix is creamy.

Serve the spring rolls with peanut sauce on the side. You can serve them whole, or sliced in half on the diagonal with a sharp chef ’s knife.