There’s a reason they call ’em spring rolls. As the weather warms, our palates cool, trading in creamy soups and hearty braises for lighter, fresher fare. The fact that this sweet-and-spicy version of the no-bake app takes less than 30 minutes to make is just a bonus. Peel half of a jicama and cut into matchsticks. Place in a colander set over a towel, toss with salt and let sit for 1 hour. Cut 1 small red bell pepper, 1 Champagne mango and 1 carrot into matchsticks. Set aside. Remove the tails from 16 cooked medium shrimp and toss with the juice of 1 lime. Heat a wide pot with an inch of water just until it’s hot enough to dip your finger in without burning. Remove from heat. Place a spring roll wrapper in the hot water until it’s flimsy, 15 to 20 seconds. Carefully remove it with your fingers and flatten it onto a damp cutting board. Arrange 3 cilantro leaves, 6 mint leaves and 2 shrimp in the bottom third of the wrapper. Top with 2 red pepper matchsticks, 2 jicama matchsticks, 2 carrot matchsticks, 6 mango matchsticks and 1 very thin slice of red Serrano pepper. Roll from the bottom just until you cover the filling. Fold in the sides and roll the whole thing up and over the top to seal. Repeat with 7 more wrappers, then dip to your heart’s desire!
For a quick and easy dipping sauce, add 1?8 cup of crushed roasted, salted peanuts and the juice of half a lime to ¼ cup of San-J Mildly Spicy Marinade & Dipping Thai Peanut Sauce, available at Straub’s and other area grocers.
This article appears in April 2013.