Fresh Spring Rolls with Avocado

Fresh spring rolls are stuffed with buttery avocado, crunchy bell peppers and cucumbers, and are topped with a luscious almond-coconut milk dipping sauce. Perfect for a quick picnic outing with friends and family!

Take a Vietnamese classic, known for its simplicity and ease, stuff it with buttery avocado and douse it in an almond-coconut dipping sauce. Spring rolls are a staple in Vietnam and across the Asian world. So much so that every region has there own take on the classic - fresh or fried, stuffed with meat or fish, spicy or a peanut dipping sauce. There is a reason spring rolls are coveted across Asia – they are a synch to make and require a bare minimum of fresh ingredients. The thing about reimaging this staple is not to add a host of ingredients but to keep it rooted in its simplicity.

Simple yet satisfying meals are ones that I quickly adopt to my recipe arsenal. Adding a few satiating elements like buttery avocado, fresh bell pepper slices and an almond-coconut dipping sauce, enhances this vegetable focused roll into a filling meal. The buttery avocado balances the crunch of the carrots and cucumbers, all of which are entwined in an almond-coconut sauce. This sauce is a beautiful combination of nutty flavors with just a touch of sweetness from the coconut milk. I love making this on the weekends for a picnic outings with friends. This is also a great healthy lunch while at work or university. Its a delicious recipe, one that you can customize to make your own. Can’t really go wrong with a creamy dipping sauce alongside fresh rolls.

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients for the Spring Rolls:

- 6 brown rice spring roll papers

- 1/2  of a large cucumber

- 1/4 cup extra firm organic tofu, cubed

- 6 leaves of butter lettuce, or romaine

- small handful cilantro

- small handful mint leaves

- 3 carrots

- 1 avocado

- lemon

Almond-Coconunt Dipping Sauce:

- 3 and 1/2 tablepsoons almond butter

- 1/4 cup coconut milk, full-fat

- 1 teaspoon tamari (GF soy-sauce)

- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar

-1 teaspoon lemon juice

- pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

Thinly chop all the vegetables into thin long pieces – like the picture above. Now start by warming the rice paper - pour hot water in a shallow dish and soak the rice paper in the water for 15 seconds. Move the soft rice paper to a damp cutting board. Lay flat as you layer the vegetables and tofu onto the middle portion of the rice paper. I like to start by layering 2 avocado slices, then cucumbers, tofu cubes, carrots, and top with a small handful of cilantro, mint, butter lettuce and squeeze of lemon juice. Gently fold one side of the rice paper over the veggies, tuck in the edges and continue to roll until it’s sealed. Enjoy now or save for later. Keep fresh by placing a damp paper towel on top of the spring rolls and store in the refrigerator.

Now prepare the dipping sauce by simply mixing all ingredients into a bowl. Cut the spring rolls in half, dip into the sauce and enjoy!

I hope you get to make these fresh spring rolls soon especially as spring is right around the corner! They really are a delicious addition to a picnic in the park or at the beach. 

I'd love to see your creations on Instagram at #8thandlake!

xx Marie

~ If anyones wondering some pictures are taken from a trip to Copenhagen last summer ~