Last weekend I made like Billy Idol and let out a rebel yell. Or maybe it was more of a caveman grunt. I become a little overwrought with excitement when the grilling season hits. Last year, I posted How to: Grill Like a Girl...My Best Tips to help any wannabe grillers tackle their fear of lighting the propane or flipping a burger. As Memorial Day draws nearer in the U.S. (the unofficial start of summer), it's time to uncover those barbecues, wield those tongs and get down to some serious searing and basting.
Of course, a good backyard barbecue is not just about what's cooking on the grill. It's also about snacking on appetizers while chatting with friends and tending the barbecue.
Avocados are the things that appetizer dreams are made of. Whether you're talking guacamole, nachos or something a little more surprising like Chilled California Avocado Soup with Coconut Milk, the creamy fruit (yep, it's a fruit...I promise) and its distinctive flavor can elevate almost any dish to a new level.
By the way, if you love avocados as much as I clearly do, be sure to enter the giveaway on the Poached Eggs over Avocado & Smoked Salmon Post for a chance to win a copy of Gaby's fantastic book, Absolutely Avocados.
Whenever I'm making spring rolls, my boys pull out their happy dance. And then they are by my side in a flash, asking if they can help to fill and roll. One of them is responsible for soaking the spring roll wrappers until they're soft, while the other fills the wrappers. In this case, the filling is rice noodles, shrimp, avocado (of course!), red bell pepper and basil. A few rolls in, they switch jobs, working away until we have a platter full of pretty rolls that are ready to be dipped into soy sauce spiked with chili-garlic sauce, or Trader Ming's Gyoza Sauce (from Trader Joe's). Love that stuff.
Serve the rolls whole, especially if you're serving them as an entree for lunch or dinner, or cut them in half for perfect bite-sized appetizers. And did I mention that one full roll has only 70 calories and 1.9g of fat. Guilt free, I'd say!
The recipe:
Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse in cold water. Using kitchen shears, cut the noodles into small pieces.
Set a medium saucepan of water of high heat and bring the water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are just cooked through, 60 to 90 seconds. Drain and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the shrimp from cooking further. Drain and cut the shrimp in half lengthwise.
Fill a shallow baking dish with hot water. Working with 1 spring roll wrapper at a time, soak the wrapper in the hot water until soft. Place the wrapper on a cutting board.
Lay 1 shrimp half, 1 slice of avocado, ¼ cup of the noodles, 2 bell pepper half slices and a sprinkling of basil into the middle of the wrapper. Fold in the sides and roll tightly. Repeat with remaining wrappers and ingredients.
Serve with soy sauce or a store-bought gyoza sauce.
Other light avocado recipes:
Cookin' Canuck's Salad Cups with Quinoa, Shrimp, Avocado & Lemon Dressing
Cookin' Canuck's Chilled California Avocado Soup with Coconut Milk
Dine & Dish's Bacon Avocado Tomato Pasta Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing
I Wash, You Dry's Guacamole Linguine
Southern Fairytale's Spicy Pulled Pork Baked Taquitos with Cool Avocado Cream Dipping Sauce
Printable Recipe
Shrimp, Avocado & Rice Noodle Spring Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ounces rice noodles
- ¼ pound large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 16 approximately spring roll wrappers
- 1 California avocado peeled, pitted & thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced and cut in half
- 8 large basil leaves thinly sliced
Instructions
- Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse in cold water. Using kitchen shears, cut the noodles into small pieces.
- Set a medium saucepan of water of high heat and bring the water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are just cooked through, 60 to 90 seconds. Drain and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the shrimp from cooking further. Drain and cut the shrimp in half lengthwise.
- Fill a shallow baking dish with hot water. Working with 1 spring roll wrapper at a time, soak the wrapper in the hot water until soft. Place the wrapper on a cutting board.
- Lay 1 shrimp half, 1 slice of avocado, ¼ cup of the noodles, 2 bell pepper half slices and a sprinkling of basil into the middle of the wrapper. F
- old in the sides and roll tightly. Repeat with remaining wrappers and ingredients. Cut the rolls in half, if desired. Serve with soy sauce or a store-bought gyoza sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: This recipe was created as part of my partnership and ambassadorship with the California Avocado Commission (CAC). All opinions expressed are my own. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Michaela
This recipe is amazing! I absolutely love avocado and I will try to prepare this meal soon. Thank you for this one!
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Nutmeg Nanny
These spring rolls look amazing! I love how fresh they look 🙂
jamie @ green beans & grapefruit
I love summer rolls and I love avocado so you have just won my heart.
shelly (cookies and cups)
This is my kinda food. Pinning!
kelley
Gorgeous and healthy- a winning combination any time!
Ali | Gimme Some Oven
Ooooh - spring rolls are my favorite! Such a great idea to add the avocados!
Shawn @ I Wash You Dry
These look fantastic! So light and fresh, I would be doing a happy dance too! I can't wait to try these bad boys out. 🙂