Easy Baked Spring Rolls

Oh this is for those like me who crave spring rolls. In fact I have ordered a Chinese takeaway in the past just so I can get a portion of them. Not the teeny tiny vegetarian ones that are more pastry than filling...but the stuffed ones with loads of beansprouts, that you can dip in soy sauce and munch away.

Well, as we all know, they are deep fried which is a tad unhealthy so - this is an easy recipe for baked spring rolls. You don't even need the correct wrappers - filo pastry is fine.

So much easier than you think. You just get the filo pastry, mix up a bowl of filling, roll them up and put in the oven. Trust me - they are as good as the real thing! Just be generous with the filling.

Ingredients: 

300g mixed vegetables (shredded cabbage, carrot, thin sliced onion, red peppers)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 inch piece ginger, chopped
150g beansprouts (tinned are fine)
200g cooked prawns (or any cooked meat, chopped)
1 tsp. Chinese 5 spice powder
1-2 tsp. soy sauce
pack of filo
1 egg, beaten

Method:

Set the oven to 200 C. Stir fry the vegetables in a pan, on a high heat, with the garlic and ginger until softened and browning and lower the heat to medium. Add the prawns, beansprouts, soy sauce and 5 Spice powder and stir well. Cook to heat the prawns through and then set to one side to cool a little.

Lay a sheet of filo pastry on a floured work surface and add a strip of filling, being sure to drain the sauce of the filling on the side of the bowl so its not too wet.. Paint some egg around the edges of the filo pastry and roll up, pulling the sides in as you go.. Paint with more egg and place seam side down onto a greased baking tray. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like and repeat until all filling is used up. Pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Serve hot with soy sauce or Chinese vinegar with a little sesame oil and chopped fresh red chilli. Lovely!

Warm Lamb Salad with Balsamic Mustard Dressing

I was feeling a bit lazy yesterday, so I re visited an old favourite that can be whipped up really quickly. This would be an ideal dish for Dad to cook on Mother's Day coming up this Sunday. Simple but effective - she'll be delighted to have dinner cooked for her - and it looks like you've slaved over it. And you will pretend you have! The textures and flavours just explode..

Warm Lamb Salad with Balsamic Mustard Dressing

Ingredients:

2 lamb leg steaks, fat removed and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp. smoked paprika (sweet paprika is fine too)
70g leaves (rocket, lambs leaf, watercress)
10 baby new potatoes, halved
75g green beans, cut into 1 inch lengths
100g cherry tomatoes
a little stale bread for croutons
fresh parsley, for garnish

For the dressing:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Put the lamb strips into a bowl, add 1 tbsp. olive oil and the smoked paprika. Stir to combine, cover and put in the fridge until just before serving. Cut up some stale bread into cubes, drizzle with oil and put in the oven at 200 C for 5 minutes to crisp up. Set to one side.

Boil the potatoes until tender and steam the green beans above the potatoes for the last few minutes of cooking. Drain and cover to keep warm. Make up the dressing from ingredients above. and season with salt & pepper.

Fry the marinated lamb in a hot pan using a little oil until just cooked, put on a plate and cover with foil to rest. Now put the tomatoes in the same pan and cook until they start to burst.

To plate up - cover a large plate with the salad leaves, top with the drained, still warm, potatoes and green beans. Now place on the lamb and tomatoes and scatter over the croutons. Dress the whole thing with the balsamic mustard dressing. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley. Simple but effective!