Recipe: No-Fry Filo Baked Spring Rolls
It’s fun to find inter–cultural ingredients that are “same–same but different”! Have you ever thought about how every cuisine more or less has its own version of buns, dumplings, flatbreads or wraps? Essentially it’s 101 ways of turning grain flour into something cheap and nutritious. You’ll find the same thing with pickling, fermentation and other preservation methods — all are survival techniques to make a little food go a long way.
So I thought about how to use some of these inter–cultural ingredient swaps to make healthier versions of my restaurant favourites. I love a good deep fried spring roll, but the amount of oil used does not agree with me. You can replicate the crunchiness of spring rolls by baking them in filo pastry. You can of course use original spring roll pastry, but I like the crispy lightness of filo. If you are watching your fat or calorie intake, you could almost make these without oil. But I find that just a lick of vegetable oil is enough to get that lovely golden glaze in the oven.
I prefer to stir fry the veg with as little seasoning as possible, then go all out on the dip with a sweet chilli or Sriracha-based sauce!
Let me know if you try this recipe and share your results on Instagram with #CelestialPeach.
Ingredients
12 sheets of ready rolled filo pastry (around 220g)
75g vermicelli noodles
Selection of crunchy stir fry vegetables e.g. carrots, cabbage, bell peppers, bean sprouts
1 tbsp light vegetable oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil, for brushing
Instructions
Prepare the vermicelli noodles to instruction and drain as much as possible.
Cut all the vegetables into thin, uniform matchsticks.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok and stir fry the vegetables on a high heat for a few minutes. Add soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
Try not to overcook the veg; it’s better to leave them a little ‘al dente’, as they will bake further in the oven.
Laying out two filo sheets at a time, place a spoonful each of vermicelli noodles and the stir fry in the centre. Roll into neat cigar shapes with tucked ends, sealing the loose sheets with a slick of oil. Watch this YouTube video for a helpful tutorial.
Brush or spray each roll with oil, and place them in a large lined tray.
Bake at 170C for 15–20 minutes; turn half way if you wish to brown the other side. If the pastry isn’t going golden brown, finish with a blast under the grill but be very careful as filo burns quickly.
