This Simple Spring Roll Recipe Is an Easy Way To Eat More Veggies

Food and health writer Phoebe Lapine wants you to get comfy with carbs again. Her cookbook Carbivore: 130 Healthy Recipes to Stop Fearing Carbs and Embrace the Comfort Foods You Love aims to de-vilify this very basic food group. Throughout the book, Lapine focuses on fiber-forward dishes that gently integrate a balanced approach to eating for health and comfort. Case in point: Her “prelude-to-summer” rolls (get it?) are a perfect example of her philosophy of integrating carbs into incredibly flavorful, veggie-focused meals.

“Along with salads, summer rolls are one of my preferred ways to eat raw vegetables,” Lapine writes. “I omit the usual vermicelli here and, instead, pack in a slew of spring vegetables, which makes the rice paper–to–fiber ratio a huge Carbivore win.”

Plus, these rolls are highly amenable to customization: “If you can’t find green beans, asparagus, or snap peas, try julienned cucumber or red bell pepper. Any big leaf lettuce or baby spinach would also work well in place of the arugula, but I love the peppery bite when paired with the ginger-walnut dipping sauce.” Itching for a little more heft? “If you want more protein, poached shrimp (halved lengthwise) can be added to the rolls.”

If you’re new to using rice paper, Lapine writes that you shouldn’t be intimidated by the light learning curve: “The rolling gets easier with practice — don’t be discouraged if the first one is a bit oddly shaped or messy. If you’re making these ahead, wrap them in a wet paper towel to keep them moist and store in an airtight container.”

If your practice fails, you can always opt for Lapine’s expert substitution advice: “Roughly chop all the vegetables and toss them together with eight ounces cooked rice noodles and the sauce for a cold noodle salad!”

Prelude-to-Summer Rolls Recipe

Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients

• 6 red radishes, thinly sliced
• 2 avocados, sliced
• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
• 4 ounces green beans, trimmed
• 4 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed
• 1 cup fresh mint or basil leaves (or a mix)
• 5 ounces baby arugula (about 4 cups, packed)
• Twelve 8-inch rice paper spring roll wrappers
• Ginger-Walnut Sauce (see below)

Instructions

1. Arrange the radishes, avocados, asparagus, green beans, snap peas, mint, and arugula in neat piles on a plate.
2. Meanwhile, heat 4 cups water in a kettle until just shy of boiling. Pour a shallow layer of water into a baking dish and keep the remaining kettle water handy, in case the water in the dish begins to cool.
3. When the water is safe to touch, dip one spring roll wrapper in the hot water to coat on both sides, shaking off any excess. Immediately place it on a clean work surface. Wait about 15 seconds for the wrapper to soften. In the center, place a few radish slices in a line parallel to your work surface, followed by 2 avocado slices, 2 asparagus spears, 2 green beans, 2 snap peas, and a few mint leaves, arranging all the veggies parallel to the edge of your work surface. If the veggies are too long, snap them in half with your fingers. You want at least 1 inch on either side of the wrapper, widthwise, to play with. Finally, add a small handful of arugula.
4. Fold in the short sides of the wrapper. Fold over the long flap closest to you and pull it tight around the vegetable pile so it seals with the paper on the other side. Then, roll up the whole thing like a neat burrito. It’s easiest to do this in one motion, holding in the veggies with your fingers as you roll so you have a tight package. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and fillings. If your roll tears, have no fear. You can double-wrap. Simply repeat with a second skin.
5. Halve each roll and serve with the Ginger-Walnut Sauce.

Ginger-Walnut Sauce Recipe

“Walnuts act as a thickener in this sauce (much like a nut butter) and also lend a subtle buttery flavor that pairs nicely with the spicy ginger and salty miso paste. Other than as a dipping sauce for the Prelude-to-Summer Rolls, you can use it as a salad dressing or topper for rice noodles.”

Makes 3⁄4 cup

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup raw walnuts
• One 3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 or 2 limes)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free tamari, soy sauce, or coconut aminos
• 2 tablespoons white miso paste
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. In a small food processor, pulse the walnuts, ginger, and garlic until finely chopped.
2. Add the lime juice, vinegar, tamari, miso, maple syrup, and salt. Puree until smooth.
3. Pulsing continuously, drizzle in the oil until the dressing consistency is between a vinaigrette and a pesto — you don’t want the sauce too thin.
4. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Excerpted from Carbivore: 130 Healthy Recipes to Stop Fearing Carbs and Embrace the Comfort Foods You Love, by Phoebe Lapine. Copyright © 2024. Available from Hachette Go, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.