mango, avocado & cucumber spring rolls

oh hi there, remember me?  you know, that girl who used to post recipes?  between m being away with our camera for all of february, then our trip to spain, followed by all of the recaps, it's been ages since i've shared something new from my kitchen!

oh my kitchen, how i love you with your breezy windows, sun streaming in, soft wood floors and music playing. this is just a quick lunch - something that i've been making all the time lately.  sometimes i call them salad rolls, sometimes i call them spring rolls, but i always call them delicious.  they're versatile as anything and oh so yummy.  {especially when served with a spicy peanut sauce!}

these beauties i'm sharing today were inspired by an armful of ripe mango's from m's mum.  sweet, juicy mango paired with creamy avocado & cool, crisp cucumber is always a good idea.  you can always leave out the rice noodles but sometimes they make for a good filler when you want to add some girth to your rolls.  although i guess it's a bit redundant isn't it, to fill rice paper with rice noodles?  kind of like stuffing a sandwich with croutons....

mango, avocado & cucumber spring rolls
serves 2
6 rice paper sheets
1 small mango
1/2 an avocado
4 inch piece of cucumber
6 sprigs of cilantro
1 cup of cooked rice noodles {optional}
toasted sesame seeds {optional} 

wash and slice up all of your fillings into long, thin strips and lay them out so they're ready to work with.  set up your working space with a clean tea towel, folded in half and get yourself a shallow pan or pie plate and fill it with an inch of hot water.

place one sheet of rice paper in the water to soften {this takes anywhere from 10 seconds to a minutes depending on the paper and water temp}.  once it's softened, remove it gently and lay it out on the towel being mindful not to rip it.  if using, sprinkle a few sesame seeds onto the paper before placing a little of each filling centered, near the bottom of the paper.  then fold in each side to meet in the middle and roll it up tightly like you would a burrito, making sure all of the fillings are tucked in.  repeat this process with all six sheets or until you've made as many as you need.

serve them whole, or cut them on the bias so that you can see the gorgeous pop of colour and serve them up with your favourite sauce.  mine is definitely a speedy version of this one except i don't even bother to heat it up - i just whisk away!!

*tasty tip!
make sure you have plenty of fillings ready to go once you start assembling your spring rolls.  you'll find your groove after the first few and it's a shame to have to interrupt the process to cut up more veggies.  i usually find i have some leftover fillings but those are perfect to just throw in a salad later on!


sunshine, springtime & salad rolls.  happy equinox and first day of spring friends!  xo.