Pura Vida Spring Rolls

 INGREDIENTS:

1 Each Cucumber, de-seeded and julienned

1 Each Carrot, shredded

1package Rice vermicelli noodles - cooked and cooled

2 Tbsp Sesame oil

4 - 5 each Red or green leaf lettuce

1 each Avocado, sliced in half

1 each Red pepper, julienned

1 bunch Thai basil leaves or regular basil (mint can be a substitution)

1/2 lb Chicken sausage, ground

1 bottle Ricante Mango Coco Sauce

1 package Rice paper wraps

DIRECTIONS:

- Prepare the chicken first so it can cool. Brown the chicken sausage with a little sesame oil in a pan. Break apart the sausage into the smallest pieces you can. When it is done cooking, you can add a little of the Ricante Mango Coco sauce to coat. Set aside to cool.

- Prepare the rice vermicelli noodles: These should be very thin. Follow package directions for preparation. When soft, drain the water and rinse noodles with cold water to stop the cooking process. Pour 1 Tbsp of sesame oil over noodles and stir. This will prevent the noodles from sticking together.

- Prepare the vegetables: Peel the cucumber. Cut it in half and remove seeds using a spoon. Julienne the cucumber try to make sticks that measure 1/8” x 1/8” x 2” (They don’t have to be perfectly exact)

- Shred the carrot. Julienne the red pepper. Core the pepper and cut out the inside white seed part so you are left with just red pepper. Julienne just like the cucumber.

- Clean the lettuce: choose 4 or 5 nice looking leaves of lettuce. Rinse and dry and tear in half.

- Prepare the basil leaves: pick the leaves off the stems, set aside.

- Slice the avocado in half and then slice the meat while it is in the skin, 1/8 inch slices.

- Prepare the salad rolls: Fill a round frying pan with cold water. It needs to be large enough to run the rice paper wraps through. Set up a clean cutting board space for building the salad rolls.

- Set up ingredients in order: 1) cooled chicken 2) noodles 3) cucumber 4) Pepper 5)carrot 6) avocado 7)Lettuce 8) Basil

- Set a rice paper wrap in the cool water for 5 seconds so it softens, then place on the cutting board.

- Put a tablespoon of the chicken a little off center on the wrap, organize in a small rectangle. Place a small amount of rice vermicelli noodles on the chicken. Stack 5 pieces of cucumber and 5 pieces of red pepper in front of the noodles. Place a tablespoon of shredded carrot on top. Put 2 pieces of sliced avocado on the veggies. Place a piece of lettuce on the veggies and 1-2 leaves of basil. This group of veggies should not extend to the right and left edges of the wrap.

- Now it’s time to roll! Using your fingers, roll the rice paper over the top of the filling, pinch the filling against the wrapper until it feels tight but don’t break the wrapper. Fold the sides in and continue to roll. Keep pinching and working to tighten the roll without breaking the paper. Keep rolling and tucking in the sides.

- Set aside and create the next salad roll and the next until you run out of ingredients.

- For service, cut in half diagonally and serve with Ricante Mango Coco sauce in a small dish as a dipping sauce.