Rolls
1 to 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 to 6 slices fresh ginger, thinly sliced on the diagonal
Sea salt
2 Cups cooked brown basmati rice
6 to 8 leaves romaine lettuce, rinsed and towel dried
Plum sauce
2 Cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
1/4 Jalapeno chili, seeded and finely minced
2 Teaspoons of sesame tahini
2 Teaspoons finely minced ginger
1 Teaspoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon brown rice syrup
Generous pinch of red pepper flakes
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 to 3 Dark fleshed plums, peeled, pitted, diced
To make the rolls: Place the oil, ginger and scallions, (reserving a few scallion slices for garnish) in a skillet over medium heat. When the vegetables begin to sizzle, add a pinch of salt and saute until the scallions are limp, but still bright green, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir the sauteed vegetables into the rice.
Lay the lettuce leaves on a dry surface. Spoon the filling generously onto each leaf and wrap the lettuce around the filling, sealing completely. Place each roll, seem side down, on a bamboo steamer. Place over a shallow pot of boiling water and steam the rolls, uncovered until lettuce just wilts, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool on the bamboo rack.
To make the plum sauce: Place the garlic, chili, tahini and ginger in a saucepan and simmer, stirring constantly, over low heat for about 2 minutes, to release the heat in the chili. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and cook over low heat until the plums are quite soft, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth. Adjust the seasonings to your taste.
To serve, pool some plum sauce on individual salad plates. Using a sharp knife, slice each lettuce roll on the diagonal. Arrange two to three diagonal pieces on each plate and serve, garnished with the reserved scallions. The unused plum sauce will keep refrigerated, for about 1 week.
–I had my Junior High cooking class make these! They had so much fun. We dipped them into the plum sauce as well as a shoyu dip . I had mixed reviews. Although my 9 year old DEVOURED them 🙂
This recipe is printed with permission from Christina Pirello