You may have enjoyed lovely Vietnamese rice paper rolls with fragrant chicken or prawns with fresh herbs, or Thai style lettuce cups with chicken or pork….well this is our take on these dishes, using lovely British grown veg.
They can be served hot or cold, and are so delicious, you can easily forget they’re healthy!
Choose from the chicken version, or the wonderful plant-based version using British artichokes and sunflower seeds. They’re equally as delicious as the meat version.
We used spring green leaves, but you can use sweetheart cabbage leaves too – just choose the smaller leaves for easy rolling. Enjoy.
MAKES: 12
Ingredients
For the chicken version
12 leaves from spring greens – find the smaller ones towards the centre, and cut the woody stem ends off. Your leaf should now look like a fan shape, with a straight edge, and semi-circle top.
Long chive stems
350g raw chicken (we used thigh fillets removed from the bones– they’re usually more affordable, plus they’re more moist than chicken breast)
200g cherry tomatoes
1 large handful fresh herbs (coriander, parsley)
2 cloves garlic
Salt & pepper
TO SERVE
These can be served hot or cold. Serve with your choice of sauce. Tomato chilli jam, mayonnaise, whatever you like.
Method
Chicken version
Peel and crush the garlic cloves, and add to a bowl
Roughly chop the herbs and add to the garlic
Dice the tomatoes – slice each of the cherry tomatoes into quarters, and then cut again so they are in small pieces (about the size of your little finger nail). Add to the garlic and herbs.
Place the chicken in a food processor and blend until it forms a mince texture. Combine the chicken mince with the garlic, herbs and tomatoes and mix through until combined.
Add salt and pepper and mix again.
Now we get ready to roll….
Wash the spring green leaves in water to remove any dirt
Boil some water in a pan, and reduce heat to a simmer
Blanche the spring green leaves to make them soft enough to roll – Place the spring green leaves in the water in the pan, and push down with a wooden spoon so they are completely submerged in the water. Remove them after 30 seconds (any longer and they will be too cooked, and difficult to roll).
Lay the spring greens out on a plate, and allow to cool and dry a little
To roll each – place about 1 tblsp chicken mixture in the centre of a spring green leaf in a sausage shape. Not too much, or it will be difficult to roll.
Fold down the top of the leaf over the top part of the chicken, about 2.5cm.
Now roll from the side towards the centre where the chicken is placed, and continue to roll to the other side of the leaf until all the chicken is enclosed in the leaf, and you have a nice neat parcel.
Take a chive stem and tie it around the roll, using a double knot to secure it.
Repeat for all other rolls.
To cook
Place into top tier of a steamer, and steam over medium heat for 12-14 minutes. (Check that the chicken is cooked all the way through, and not pink.)
Remove from the steamer with tongs. Serve straight away, or store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Ingredients
For the artichoke & sunflower seed
12 leaves from spring greens – find the smaller ones towards the centre, and cut the woody stem ends off. Your leaf should now look like a fan shape, with a straight edge, and semi-circle top.
Long chive stems
250g artichoke hearts (steam fresh artichokes, and scoop out the hearts, or you can use jar variety)
200g sunflower seeds
200g cherry tomatoes
1 large handful fresh herbs (coriander, parsley)
2 cloves garlic
Salt & pepper
TO SERVE
These can be served hot or cold. Serve with your choice of sauce. Tomato chilli jam, mayonnaise, whatever you like.
Method
Artichoke & sunflower seed version
Peel and crush the garlic cloves, and add to a bowl
Roughly chop the herbs and add to the garlic
Dice the tomatoes – slice each of the cherry tomatoes into quarters, and then cut again so they are in small pieces (about the size of your little finger nail). Add to the garlic and herbs.
Place the sunflower seeds in a food processor and blend until it forms a mince texture.
Add the artichoke hearts to the food processor with the sunflower seeds and blend until combined, and a mince texture
Combine the artichoke & sunflower mince with the garlic, herbs and tomatoes and mix through until combined.
Add salt and pepper and mix again.
Now we get ready to roll….
Wash the spring green leaves in water to remove any dirt
Boil some water in a pan, and reduce heat to a simmer
Blanche the spring green leaves to make them soft enough to roll – Place the spring green leaves in the water in the pan, and push down with a wooden spoon so they are completely submerged in the water. Remove them after 30 seconds (any longer and they will be too cooked, and difficult to roll).
Lay the spring greens out on a plate, and allow to cool and dry a little
To roll each – place about 1 tblsp artichoke & sunflower mixture in the centre of a spring green leaf in a sausage shape. Not too much, or it will be difficult to roll.
Fold down the top of the leaf over the top part of the artichoke & sunflower mince, about 2.5cm.
Now roll from the side towards the centre where the artichoke & sunflower is placed, and continue to roll to the other side of the leaf until all the artichoke & sunflower is enclosed in the leaf, and you have a nice neat parcel.
Take a chive stem and tie it around the roll, using a double knot to secure it.
Repeat for all other rolls.
To cook
Place into top tier of a steamer, and steam over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
Remove from the steamer with tongs. Serve straight away, or store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
Spring greens belong to the brassica family, and they provide you with a serious punch of vitamin C, which is great to support your immune system. As well as a good source of vitamin K, which is useful for building bone strength.
Spring greens also contain natural compounds, called sulforaphane and indoles, and evidence suggests these chemicals can help fight cancer, and have great anti-inflammatory properties, helping to protect against heart disease and stroke.
Tomatoes are also packed with Vitamin C and a good source of Vitamin A and K, and also fibre.
We can’t travel the world at the moment, but we can take our tastebuds around the world, and this Turkish inspired bread is really simple to make and so delicious! This is our take on a Turkish Gozleme style bread, with wonderful British Leeks adding a great oniony flavour, as well as being a great
A warm salad, celebrating wonderful seasonal winter vegetables, accompanied with the addition of tangy satsuma. Leeks make a great warm salad, and using the stem of the leek in the salad, and the leaves in the salsa verde mean every part of the leek is used. A light and refreshing salad, for the warmer months.
Courgette, Cucumber, Pea & Mint Soup This is a beautiful green summer soup that can be eaten hot or cold and uses vegetables and herbs that are at their best in the summer months. Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil or butter 2 courgettes, roughly chopped 1 homegrown mini cucumber 1 cup frozen peas
Cherry Bars Sweet cherries are available from May to August in the UK so make the most out of them during these months. They are believed to be one of the most energy boosting fruits! They are also rich in antioxidants, are a good anti-inflammatory and contain melatonin, which can help treat insomnia.
Learn all about how to make delicious gut friendly fermented foods safely in your own home. Cook along with us in this online event.