Fresh spring rolls use rice paper to draw together the flavors of vegetables, herbs, rice noodles, and dipping sauce. With a nod to traditional Vietnamese spring rolls made with lettuce and shrimp, these Spring in the Inland Northwest Rolls pack in the array of fresh produce available from local farms during this season of sprouting and blooming. Construct and roll up their crisp and bright ingredients with friends or as an activity with kids!

Switch up the flavors in these rolls with other in-season produce from farmers’ markets, farm stands, or the online LINC Market (lincfoods.com). Try green onions, basil, cilantro, mint, cabbage, or lettuce. Add slices of jalapeño for a touch of heat. We included edible flowers for an extra layer of beauty.

Spring Roll Ingredients:

1 package of organic tofu, pressed

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp olive oil

½ package of rice noodles

1 tsp sesame oil

1 cucumber from Elithorp Farm

3 small carrots from Courage to Grow Farms

3 radishes from Vinegar Flats Farm

3 salad turnips from Peak of Abundance Farm

1 lime

½ package of radish microgreens from Full Bushel Farm

9-12 sheets of rice paper (spring roll wrappers)

Peanut Sauce Ingredients:

1 garlic scape from Channing Farm (we used 1 garlic clove)

½ cup peanut butter

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp honey from Greenbluff Honey Farm

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp sesame oil

¼ tsp ginger powder

Process:

Heat the oven and a baking sheet to 425 degrees. Slice the tofu into long strips, roughly half an inch wide. Sprinkle with corn starch, mixing to ensure the tofu strips are covered. Drizzle olive oil on the hot baking sheet and spread out tofu so the pieces aren’t touching each other. Cook for half an hour or until golden brown, flipping the tofu halfway through.

Meanwhile, prepare the rice noodles according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and drizzle with sesame oil.

Slice the cucumber and carrots into long matchsticks and the radishes and turnips into thin slices. Quarter the lime.

Finely chop the garlic scape and whisk together the peanut sauce ingredients.

Warm roughly one inch of water in a wide pan. Dip a sheet of rice paper into the warm water until covered, for just a few seconds. Place the damp rice paper on a tea towel and begin placing the veggies, microgreens, tofu, peanut sauce, a squeeze of lime, and rice noodles in the center of the paper.

Fold in the right and left sides of the rice paper so they overlap and stick together in the center. Fold over the top and bottom edges to enclose the roll.

Repeat steps 5 and 6, using up the spring roll ingredients. Eat fresh with additional peanut sauce and lime!