SUMMER WRAPS WITH ZESPRI® SUNGOLD KIWI, SMOKED TOFU, VEGGIES + HARUSAME DRESSING (V+, ChF, GF)

Vegan Wraps with Zespri Sungold Kiwi, tofu and veggies - The Little Plantation

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After 3 long, ardeous years during which I practically abandoned my friends, neglected my family and pretty much stopped sleeping, I can gladly report that the completion of my nutrition studies is now firmly in sight. In fact if my arms weren't so short, I'd already be able to touch the light at the end of tunnel, but alas, they are short so I still have a teeny, tiny bit to go ;). For me the most important thing though was getting my final exam out of the way and on Friday the 17th of June, 2016 at 11am I handed it in with the hope of never ever writing another exam ever again. Woohoo!!! If that's not reason enough to celebrate, I don't know what is.

Being a plant-based food blogger, the best way I know how to celebrate is with awesome vegan food of course. So on that very Friday I got busy in the kitchen and created these delicious wraps/rolls using Zespri® SunGold kiwi fruit. You see, I was kindly asked to develop a recipe using Zespri® SunGold kiwi fruit a few weeks ago and when approached I'd thought about making a smoothie or sweet breakfast inspired recipe. It seemed the most natural way to use the fruit that comes with the adorable hashtag #BreakfastBling. BUT, after some further thought my initial concept also seemed too predictable. So once I'd wolfed down the kiwis supplied to me (oops!) and after I was TOTALLY blown away by the delicate, juicy, sweet flavour I suddenly had the idea of marrying the kiwi fruit with a smoky, salty partner. BINGO!

The end result are these summer rolls/wraps where Zespri® SunGold kiwi fruit is paired with salty, smoky tofu, crunchy red cabbage, tart pomegranate, fresh parsley, sharp radishes and crispy sprouts. Crazy good, right?! Add to that a Japanese Harusame dressing and you are practically in plantbased heaven. I know because there were lots of mmmms and ahhhhs at the dinner table here in The Little Plantation household ;). Though who's to say you can't have these for breakfast and use your #BreakfastBling hastag in the process?

Now if my description and photos don't convince you to give the beautiful Zespri® SunGold kiwi fruit a go than how about these facts?

Zespri® SunGold kiwi fruit is so smooth to eat, you don't have to peel it, it has a low glycaemic index, is packed full of anti-oxidants, rich in fibre, potassium and folate. It's also a vitamin C powerhouse, containing three times the amount of vitamin C than oranges! Amazeballs, right? So go on try some quickly because they are available until the end of September only.

Thanks for reading everyone. See you in 2 weeks :)

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Please check the tips at the end of the recipe for suggestions and substitutions :).

Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes
Makes: 12-14 rolls

Ingredients for the dressing:

25ml brown rice vinegar (I used this one)
25ml tamari sauce (I used this one)
20g brown sugar
10ml sesame oil
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
a small piece, about 5g, of fresh ginger, finely grated

Ingredients for the rolls:

pack of 20 rice paper wrappers (I used these)
a handful of radishes
seeds of 1 pomegranate
1 package (200g) smoked tofu (I used this one)
3-5 Zespri® SunGold kiwi fruit
a good handful of fresh parsley
1-2 large handfuls of sprouts (I used alfalfa and broccoli spouts)
1/4 of a small red cabbage

Instructions:

First make the dressing by combining all the ingredients. Adjust seasoning to your liking and set aside.

Prepare all the fresh ingredients for the wraps, by washing them. Then thinly slice the radishes with a potato peeler, cut the tofu into thin strips, pick the parsley leaves of the stem, cut the kiwis into discs, prepare the pomegranate seeds and thinly slice the cabbage using a mandolin. Fill a large, shallow bowl with warm (not boiling!) water and one by one, soak the rice paper sheets in the water for 10-20 seconds or until soft. Watch not to keep them in the water too long as they will be too fragile and tear.

Place the soft wrapper on the kitchen counter and fill with the above noted ingredients. I placed the kiwis on the rice paper first and then put 1 layer of ingredients on top of each other, but it's personal choice.

Next fold the wrap, set aside and make the next roll. You can see a nice demo of how the rice paper rolls need to be filled and rolled here in this super short video. Just be careful not to overfill the rolls! Finally, cut the finished rolls in half and dip them in the sauce. Enjoy!

FYI There may be some ingredients left over, especially the pomegranate and red cabbage ;). You can use them to make this salad.

Tip 1: If you are struggling to get ahold of rice paper sheets than why not use collard greens as your wrapping paper instead?
Tip 2: You can add some sesame seeds for extra crunch and calcium too if you wish. Avocado can also be a nice addition.
Tip 3: If you can't find smoked tofu anywhere, you can use shiitake or portobello mushrooms instead. I would marinade them in tamari sauce and liquid smoke (if you can get hold of it) and then oven bake until ready.
Tip 4: Use coriander leaves instead of parsley and/or add some raw spinach leaves for extra goodness.