These spring rolls were inspired by my recent trip to California, where my partner and I discovered a vegetable spring roll made with a collard green wrapper. We both thought the collard green leaf worked infinitely better than lettuce and is considerably more nutritious than a rice paper wrap.
These spring rolls are surprisingly filling, very satisfying, and they’re beautiful. This recipe is vegan and uses both tofu and the a Thai peanut dipping sauce as sources of protein. However, you could remove the tofu and easily add in thin strips of another protein source if you desired (chicken or beef would work well). My favorite variation is to include sweet potato fries and avocado mousse in the filling.
- 4 large collard green leaves
- 2 medium carrots, raw
- ½ english cucumber with peel, raw
- ½ daikon radish raw
- 1 cup red cabbage, raw
- ½ cup cilantro leaves, raw
- 1 avocado, (or use the minimalwellness.com/avocadomousse recipe)
- 8 oz marinated tofu (can be purchased pre-marinated in most natural foods stores)
- Wash collard green leaves & cilantro.
- Use one collard green leaf for each roll.
- Slice all wrap fillings length-wise into long, thin, julienned strips (carrot, daikon radish, cucumber, avocado, and tofu).
- Prepare avocado mousse if desired as a substitute for sliced avocado.
- Coarse chop cilantro.
- Lay out one collard leaf and place ¼ of each of the filling ingredients length-wise onto the leaf in line with the stem. If using the avocado mousse, spread 2 Tbl mousse onto the collard leaf alongside each side of the filling.
- Once all ingredients are laid onto the leaf, roll it up as tightly as possible.
- Slice the roll in half.
- Secure if needed with a toothpick to prevent unwrapping.
- Serve with thai peanut dipping sauce (recipe at minimalwellness.com/thaipeanutsauce).
*Not all calories are equal.