Vietnamese cuisine is one of my absolute favourites, especially in the warmer weather when it is fragrant and fresh flavours are so refreshing. Today’s dish is a Vietnamese classic with a Greek twist.
Since, like I mentioned in my last post, peaches are to die for at the moment, I’ve decided to fold them into the summer rolls for an extra burst of subtle sweetness. Duncan is much more conservative about flavour matching and he never looks convinced when I suggest incorporating an ingredient that doesn’t conventionally belong in a dish. I decided to blind test my idea on him. If I can convince this big sceptic that peach can belong in a summer roll then I have it in a bag, I thought. He loved the taste and demolished a big plate of these vegan summer rolls for lunch while making lots of happy noises so I think the peach has passed the test with flying colours. These summer beauties don’t take long to make at all. The key is prepping all the vegetables and sauce in advance. Rolling these tight takes a little bit of practice, but you’ll get the knack of it very quickly, I promise. I found it very therapeutic and a relaxing thing to do on the table outside, while listening to the birds singing. They are crunchy, juicy and light and very satisfying. As an added bonus, they are easily portable too so don’t feel the need to eat them at home. Shake things up: a picnic on a big meadow or on a lovely beach is just as good a place as any. Enjoy!
20 rice paper wrappers (mine were 22 cm diameter) 3 peaches, sliced evenly 1 red pepper, julienned 1 small cucumber, julienned 2 carrots, julienned ¼ small red cabbage, sliced thinly 100 g vermicelli rice noodles 5 lettuce leaves, I used Cos handful of fresh mint
PEANUT SAUCE
2 heaped tbsp all natural peanut (contains no sugar or salt) butter* 40 ml lime juice (from 1 lime) 90 ml water 1 tbsp / 15 ml tamari (for gluten free version) or soy sauce 1 garlic clove, pressed 2 tsp grated ginger 1-2 tsp hot chilli flakes 1 tbsp hoisin sauce**
