We interrupt this Football Sunday for an important message attempt at keeping our waistlines in check.  Thanksgiving Sunday is around the corner and before Mike and I spiral into yet another poultry induced food coma, we took a glutton break and opted for a health conscious change up.

Salad rolls are one of my fave go-to’s when I need a quick + fresh snack.  I make them often enough that I now keep our cupboards stocked, at all times, with a supply of rice paper and vermicelli noodles.  So long as I have those ingredients on hand, I can whip up any combination of produce from my fridge to fill them with.

I’ve been asked many times how I make my salad rolls and, to this point, I’ve been reluctant to actually share the process as there isn’t much to them.  Once you’ve chosen and prepped all your ingredients and get the hang of rolling the rice paper, you’re well on your way to having a deliciously easy recipe in your back pocket to whip out at any snack time related event that never fails to impress!

 S H R I M P  S A L A D  R O L L S  +  B E E R  N U T  S A U C E

In light of the Sunday sport that had been playing on our TVs since early morning – this Sunday was the week of the international series in the UK and with the London time change, Mike was tuned in by 9:30am – I served up my shrimp rolls with a football appropriate twist.

THE ROLL | INGREDIENTS:

• poached + peeled shrimp | 1 shrimp / roll  **I like to quarter each shrimp
• thinly sliced [on a mandolin] cucumbers |  about 4-5 slice / roll
• julienned carrots about 3″ long | 3-4 matchsticks / roll
• julienned bell pepper | 2 matchsticks / roll
• a hand full of cilantro | 4 leaves / roll
• romaine lettuce
• rice vermicelli cooked | 1/2c of cooked noodles will suffice
• rice paper wraps | 1 wrap / roll

fill a frying pan [large enough to fit your rice paper wrapper] 1/2 way with warm water
soak 1 wrapper in the water until it softens; about 2mins | gently wring out the wrapper to remove excess water
lay wrapper flat on a work surface
**I like to let the wrapper sit for another 30 seconds to allow it dry a little longer and get slightly sticky for easier rolling

on the centre lower half of the wrapper, layer on lettuce + cucumbers + bell peppers + carrots + noodles + cilantro leaving about a 1.5″ border along the bottom

fold the bottom border up over the filling and tightly roll once
layer the shrimp pieces, face side down, over top of the roll

fold the sides in toward the centre

tightly roll the filling up along the rest of the wrapper
repeat the process until you have your desired number of rolls

before serving, with a sharp knife, cut each roll in half on an angle

THE DIP | INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3c of Sapporo beer
• 1c unsalted roasted peanuts
• 2tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 lime | squeezed for juice
• 1/4c vegetable oil
• 1tbsp sugar
• 1tsp salt

combine peanuts + sugar + salt in a food processor and slowly add the vegetable oil until a creamy butter like consistency is reached
scoop out the peanut butter into a sauce pan adding the remaining ingredients | stir to combine
continue to stir on medium low heat 
once at a simmer remove from heat, pour into serving bowl, and allow to cool
crush up an extra tbsp of peanuts and sprinkle over top of the sauce before serving with the salad rolls

Though I do love my hot wings + blue cheese dip, these salad rolls are a tasty option to sub in when you need a healthy break.  It’s a long football season and every health conscious decision counts!