This is one of my favorite summer time dishes. It couldn’t be simpler, no cooking involved just requires a few top quality, super fresh ingredients. After the enormous amount of super salad greens (there were many other colors in there too) from my CSA I decided that these had to be on the menu. They are like a super tasty, refreshing salad that you can hold with your hands.
Anyone who has read this blog before knows that I have a thing for finger foods, or just hand to mouth! I use the recipe from The Herbal Kitchen loosely, because again if you’ve been here before you know that I am not a recipe follower. This is a good place to start as it is a great recipe as are all the recipes in that book. This is a book from the former executive chef of The Herbfarm. He uses iceberg lettuce, I do not or have not tried that… yet.
Summer Salad Rolls adapted from The Herbal Kitchen by Jerry Traunfeld
serves a bunch
- handful of spearmint leaves (the fresh mint in the markets is spearmint)
- handful of cilantro leaves
- handful of basil (why not Thai basil?)
- good bunch of salad mix
- 12 rice paper wrappers
- handful of lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
Fill a pie plate with hot tap water. Place a wrapper in the water for a few minutes until pliable. Do not leave it too long (2-3 minutes.) Remove from the water and place on a damp tea towel or paper towel. Fill a quarter of the wrapper with the salad mix, lay a few of each of the herbs on top, and a sprinkling of peanuts. Roll fairly tight without crushing the greens and place on a platter and cover with a damp towel.
Repeat until all are made, make as many as you wish. They are yummy and stored in a sealed container covered with a damp paper towel will keep at least 24 hours, though it is best to serve within a few hours of making them. Serve them whole or cut in half for prettier presentation.
Nuoc Cham is the everyday sauce for the Vietnamese. They serve it at the table with their meals, it is their salt and pepper. There are so many varieties of this recipe, the one below is from the cookbook above. Feel free to play with it a bit, many recipes call for garlic too.
Nuoc Cham
- 1/4 cup Thai fish sauce
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice or lime juice
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Thai bird chilies, minced (I keep a bag of them in the freezer)
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped shallots
Mix well and serve in a small bowl for dipping. This sauce is great with grilled meats and veggies too.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a similar recipe on hand to make this summer- it's the perfect summery sort of happy hour treat! I'm glad you mentioned this cookbook- this is from a chef who was at the restaurant that cooked for us at the conference, right? I must have it!
That looks good. I will definitely try this one!
Oooooh,…..MMMMMM….These appetizers or this dinner looks so scrumptious!! Excellent & yummie flavours!
those look so amazing, what a great way to wrap up greens and fun way to eat with kids. i love veggie spring rolls at a restaurant, but have never made them. thanks for sharing!
I adore gỏi cuốn, it's fresh, light and tasty.. I like to first dip it hoisin sauce and then into the nouc cham…yum
RecipeGirl, yes, same restaurant. Get the book it is great!
Sylvia, thanks mom!
Sophie, I could eat these everyday
Jenna, I thought that you would love them, you can put anything inside to make it more *kid* friendly (or just picky eater friendly)
Zita, I will have to try it that way, and thanks for the traditional spelling I love that!
You're so right, they're such perfect summer food. I've tried using iceberg but as it's less flexible than softer types of lettuce, the rice paper sometimes tears. I think you did the right thing using salad leaves
Yum…Yum…Yum!!!!!!