Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls With Prawn, Nasturtium & Mint

• Serves 24

• Preparation time:

• Cooking time:

Ingredients

24 round rice paper sheets, 25cm in diameter

24 mint leaves

24 unsprayed nasturtium petals, or petals from other edible flowers

24 cooked prawns, peeled

Thai dressing, to serve

Lime wedges, to serve

FILLING

225g rice vermicelli noodles

1 large carrot, grated

100g firm tofu, grated

1 bunch (90g) coriander, leave and stalks finely chopped

1 bunch (80g) mint, leaves picked and finely chopped

6 spring onions, finely chopped

50g peanuts, toasted and chopped

50g fried shallots (from Asian stores)

25ml Thai dressing

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Start by making the filling. Put the noodles in a saucepan, cover with cold water ad bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minute, then drain into a colander. Run cold water over the noodles to stop them cooking any further. Drain well, then leave in the colander on your workbench to dry out.

When the noodles are dry, combine all the other filling ingredients in a large bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

To assemble the rolls, have a large bowl of hot water ready, and make sure your workbench is clean and dry. Soak the rice paper sheets in the hot water, one at a time, for 30 second, or until just soft, and place on your workbench – it’s best to work in small manageable amounts, say five sheets at a time.

Place a mint leaf and a nasturtium petal one-quarter of the way down from the top of each rice sheet. Place a prawn below the garnish. Place a couple of tablespoons of filling in the middle of each rice sheet. Bring the sides in, crossing over by about 1cm, then roll up firmly to enclose the filling.

Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Serve with Thai dressing as a dipping sauce and lime wedges for squeezing over.

Notes

“These are so good to take on a picnic or road trip, or just to enjoy at home on the weekends. You can use anything you have left over from dinner the night before – roast chicken, pork, steak or even barbecued fish… for special occasions I use barbecued duck or lobster. In our stores we roll these fresh every day, just before lunchtime.”

TIP: These rolls are best made just before serving but can be packed in a container on a clean damp cloth, then wrapped in plastic wrap to stop them drying out. They are best eaten the day they are made.