What’s cuter than a rainbow-hued crudite? Rainbow crudite rolled into rice wrappers, of course. We’re a little taken with The Naked Cookbook, whose plain-looking cover opens to reveal countless clean eats like these spring rolls with peanut sauce and other recipes with pared down ingredients and maxed out flavors.
Crunchy and dippable like chips, more interesting than crudité and beautiful to make – these healthy, rainbow bites are sure to be a hit with whoever you’re hosting at home, even if it’s just your roommate.
A rainbow of colorful shredded veggies, rice-paper wrappers and a mega-chunky peanut dipping sauce are all it takes for these tasty spring rolls to sing. For anyone cutting out carbohydrates, I recommend steamed cabbage leaves or raw lettuce leaves instead of rice paper wrappers.
Rainbow spring rolls + Peanut Dipping Sauce
Serves 2
Ingredients:
For the spring rolls:
4 cups mixed fresh vegetables (such as bell pepper, radishes, cucumber, carrot, bean sprouts, celery, kohlrabi, green onions and avocado)
6 to 8 rice paper wrappers (4-inch circles or larger)
1 tsp chopped red chile
handful of fresh herbs, (such as mint, basil and cilantro)
a few edible flowers (optional, but they look pretty through the wrapper)
For the chunky peanut dipping sauce:
3 Tbsp unsalted chunky peanut butter
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp tamari
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
juice of 1 orange
Directions:
For the spring rolls:
Prepare the vegetables separately, cutting them into julienne, sticks, or thin circles as appropriate. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Quickly dip each rice-paper wrapper in the water for 10 to 15 seconds, until soft but not falling apart.
Place the wet wrappers on a clean counter. Arrange the prepared vegetables, chile, herbs and flowers on each rice wrapper, about a third of the way up. Tuck in the sides and roll. The trick is to not overpack them.
Serve immediately with the dipping sauce, either whole, or cut in half for a quick bite.
For the chunky peanut dipping sauce:
Put all the ingredients into a jar and shake well.
Spoon into a bowl before serving. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Reprinted with permission from The Naked Cookbook, by Tess Ward, copyright 2015. Published in the U.S. by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
