I hope you're having a nice Tuesday ❤️ I'm happy to share a recipe post again 🙂

Yesterday I saw a package of rice paper that I had forgotten about totally; I bought a few days ago. I saw so many other forgotten items in my fridge, among them, some hydrated almonds that had been frozen for a couple of weeks. I decided to make a fun dish, which would help me make the most of these ingredients and also lift our spirits.

The recipe I want to share with you today is for spring rolls filled with quinoa cooked in sweet and sour beetroot water and served with almond and sweet and sour beetroot cream.

It's been hard days, trying to help one of our dogs to recover and although we did not succeed, I can tell she spent her last days with all the medical and emotional care and pampering. She's now on another plane. I like to think that she's in a special place for good and innocent souls, where all doggies go for sure.

Ingredients

Well, the essential ingredient for this dish is spring roll round rice paper wrapper, I paid $10 approx for this package (produced in Vietnam). Each sheet measures 22cm (8.5"), perfect for 8-10 cm rolls.

Once I had the wrappers, I needed to get creative about the fillings and sauce so I could use what I had at home already.

For the fillings

• 1 cup quinoa (cooked in sweet and sour beetroot water)
  2 cups boiled potatoes (peeled) and 1 tablespoon margarine to make mashed potatoes
• 1 cup finely julienned carrot (peeled)
• 1 cup boiled ripe plantain
• 1 cup avocado slices
• ciboulette

For quinoa in sweet and sour beetroot water:

• 1 cup grated beetroot (peeled)
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic

For the almond and sweet and sour beetroot cream

• 1 cup hydrated and peeled almonds (soaked for 6 hours)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
• 1 cup sweet and sour grated beetroot (used to season and color the quinoa)

---

Time to prepare some healthy rolls, super nutritious and with lots of flavor.

I had prepared the quinoa a couple of days ago; I used it to accompany some baby pumpkins. Very tasty. The rest I kept in the fridge.

I peeled and grated a cup of beets. I cooked it in boiling water for 20 minutes and then added 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon cane sugar, and turned off the heat.

I washed the quinoa very well in a strainer under running water to remove the saponin. Then I made sure I had a cup and a half of liquid in which to boil it for 15 minutes.

I chopped the onion and crushed a clove of garlic and added them to the cooking. I also adjusted the salt.

I drained the beets and left only the liquid to cook the quinoa. At the end I decided to add the grated beets to the almond cream to give it a nice pink color--which has nothing to do with Barbie, bythe way 😏

For the mashed potatoes, I peeled and boiled the diced potatoes. When they were loose, I removed them from the heat, drained them completely in a colander and mashed them with a fork. I also added a little margarine to give it a better consistency.

On the other hand, I washed a plantain and cut it into three pieces; then I let it cook in boiling water with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes. Then I let it cool completely so I could peel it, cut it, and remove the veins.

I also peeled and sliced a ripe avocado that had been forgotten in the fridge for several days.

I also peeled and julienned the carrot.

I sprinkled it with lemon to intensify its flavor and soften its texture without taking away its crunchiness.

I didn't have any spring onions, but I had ciboulette in the backyard. I cut some tender sprigs to add them to the filling.

Now I needed to prepare the almond and sweet & sour beetroot cream so I could start assembling my dish.

I had already had the sweet and sour grated beets in the fridge for a few days.

I also had the almonds hydrated and frozen, stored in the freezer.

So the first step was to put the almonds in warm water and wash them. After that it was very easy to remove the skin.

The next step was to peel the garlic and crush the cloves so that the blender blades could process them completely.

I put all the ingredients in the blender and let it do its job scraping as it went, until the mixture became homogeneous and creamy.

I've never made this cream with beets before, so I don't know how long it will last in my refrigerator. I'll tell you later when I know. Usually, when I prepare it without beets, it lasts more than a week in perfect condition.

---

It was pretty thick.

And had a beautiful pink color.

I was ready to start filling and rolling!

I poured warm water into a wide bowl and dipped one sheet of rice at a time.

With the sheet still slightly firm, I placed it on a clean cutting board and began placing the fillings in the center, immediately; during this time, the rehydrated wrapper finished softening and getting a bit sticky, making it very easy to glue the edges together.

I rolled up every roll with a minimum of difficulty, like a burrito, covering the ends first and then rolling forward to cover all the filling. They were not perfect, but I was happy with the result 😁

I rolled up some for lunch.

We loved the combination of flavors and textures.

I made more for dinner. It a was perfect choice, as I wasn't in the mood for more cooking. I added a little soy sauce this time. Delicious!

Bon appetite!

All text and images are my own. I have taken the pictures with my Redmi 9T cell phone. And if any GIFs here, I've used GIPHY for all them.