2 meals for 1! Spring Rolls and Soup

   MEAL 1

 I have been wanting to make my own spring rolls for a while now. I decided to just make up my own recipe. I think these really turned out delicious and very healthy. Plus I'll show you the soup I made from the left overs.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup carrots julienne 
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper julienne
• 1/4 cup zucchini sliced
• 2 or 3 tablespoons finely diced red onion or sliced green onion
• 1/2 cup chopped asparagus
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• half a head of a small cabbage ( around a cup and a half)
• 1 tsp Soy Sauce
• 1 tbl spoon Apple Cider Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar
• Wel-Pac Chow Mein Stir-Fri noodles ( I have found these to have the most flavor)
• 1 inch grated ginger (I have found that it grates best when it is frozen. Just take a spoon and scrape off the tough skin only on the part you are going to use.)
• sesame seeds
• red pepper flakes-as much as you would like
• 1 tbl spoon Sesame oil or Safflour oil or Vegetable oil( I just would not recommend olive oil because you want a neutral flavor)
• Banh Trang spring roll wrappers ( I found these at whole foods but I'm sure any spring roll wrappers will do)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro          

   
 Begin by boiling a largeish pot of water to soften the rice papers later. Once it has boiled set aside around 2 cups of water into a large bowl to cool while you chop the veggies. In the rest of the water boil about a quarter of the package of noodles until al dente.

        
In another bowl add all of the chopped veggies, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, as much sesame seeds as you like, cilantro, and ginger. When the noodles are done add them to the mix, mix well and allow the flavors to blend together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Before you start making the rolls taste the mixture to see if it has enough flavor.

       
Next you will need to soften the rice papers. To this your water will need to be hot, not so hot you burn yourself but luke warm water won't do. Take the rice paper by the edge and gently spin it in the water. Make sure to get the center wet too. The paper is very fragile and will rip (at least mine did...). Unless it is a major rip the small rips can be smushed back together when the paper dries a little because it becomes slightly sticky. When the whole paper is soft lay it out on a cutting board.

Lay a portion of the mixture, depending on the size you would like your rolls, in a line down the center of it. Roll like a burrito. My rolls turned out quite large because I can't make anything in little portions.... See below

Rub each roll with a little oil and top with sesame seed. Cook in a 350 degree oven until crispy. My rolls slightly stuck so I would recommend using pam or oiling the cookie sheet. Once the top is crispy flip it over to crisp to bottom. The veggies will be nicely steamed on the inside.

When making this recipe take liberty and experiment adding and subtracting any ingredients. Most people would probably add mushrooms to this but I absolutely hate them!!! These can also be deep fried but there cannot be any holes in the roll otherwise they will just soak up with oil. Mine were more of fork and knife spring rolls so if you want them to be finger foods I would limit the amount of filling. 

MEAL 2

      For the second meal you can make a soup out of the left over spring roll filling! In a wok or sauce pan saute onions, garlic, and celery until soft along with salt and pepper. Add a cup of water, or enough to cover the amount of left overs you have, and scrape down the bottom of the pan to get all of the flavor off. 

    

Add in the left over mix and let simmer. Taste the broth and you made need to add a little more soy sauce or vinegar and anything else you wish to add.

Let the soup simmer until the veggies are soft!