Tasty Messy Summer Rolls!

I love Summer Rolls when the weather heats up.  As their name suggests, it’s pretty much the perfect summer meal.  In the past, I’ve often served them with some kind of store-bought sauce, and while this is always a fine option, today I paired them with Matthew Kenney’s “Creamy Thai Dressing” from Everyday Raw and it was absolute perfection.  Yum, yum, yum.

One of the fun things about Summer Rolls is that they can contain anything your heart desires.  That said, I recommend balancing the consistencies – the soft, squishy wrapper needs a nice counterpoint of something fresh and crunchy, in my opinion.  Today’s rolls included some sliced cucumbers and julienned carrots.  I often stuff some chopped Romaine in, too, but I didn’t today.  I also like to include thinly sliced baked tofu for some hearty protein when it’s the main course, as it was today.  And I’m a huge fan of putting Thai rice vermicelli noodles in my rolls.  Gives it an excellent mouth feel.  Finally, no Summer Roll would be complete without a blast of fresh herbs, in today’s case, mint and basil.

As mentioned before, the Creamy Thai Dressing really gave these rolls a fresh, wonderful boost of flavor.  As those who play around with raw food know, Matthew Kenney is one of the greats in the field.  All of his creations, whether they be cookbooks or restaurants, are stunningly good.  And while his recipes can sometimes be pretty involved, this one couldn’t be simpler.  Just dump a bunch of things in a blender and voila – happy sauce!  I found the recipe published here, along with a few others (I halved it and only used one-half of a Serrano pepper for spice):

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-favorite-raw-vegan-salad-dressings.html

Next step, soften some wrappers in warm water:

Then assemble and eat!  I was more interested in consuming these rolls than in making them pretty for their close-up, but you could easily make them more charming if you’re so inclined.  Either way, they’re thoroughly tasty and satisfying.

Enjoy!  xo