Food Friday: Summer Rolls

Dropping mercury across the country this week signaled the end of summer days. My rowing league also wraps up this week. Last night was our last pot luck and tomorrow our last regatta. In the spirit of summer, I brought these 'summer rolls' last night. Until yesterday, I thought veggies wrapped in rice paper rolls and cooled were spring rolls. Searching for cold potluck dishes, I both discovered this idea and learned these are actually called summer rolls. The difference? Deep frying.

The summer rolls were a hit. So much so, one of my teammates asked if I would bring them to their church lunch one day. She even offered to buy the ingredients!

I have made these a few times now, when I have had some time and craved something fresh & crisp. They are excellent with large, cooked shrimp, sesame oil, julienned carrots, cucumber and coriander. Yesterday, I used: fresh basil and chives, julienned carrots, red peppers, avocado and green onion.  

The most common question was where to get rice paper. I have noticed most grocery stores now carry rice paper in their ethnic foods section, near the rice. It comes in round sheets, which you have to soak in luke-warm water (I use a pie plate) for 1-2 minutes, before they're soft enough to work with. Lay them out on a towel, then lay out your ingredients, wrap, slice and enjoy.

To serve later, I soaked a tea towel, placed on top of the rolls (unsliced) and wrapped in plastic. When ready, slice and serve with thai peanut dipping sauce. Enjoy!

Happy Food Friday!