1 food 5 ways, Sweet Potatoes, Way #1: Sweet Potato-Scallion Rice Paper Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

You may have been observant enough to notice that I skipped over way #5 of navy beans. Have no fear, I will get back it. BUT, as is probably pretty obvious from earlier weeks, Fridays are usually busy days for me. Today is no exception. Tonight is my Sunday School class's pumpkin carving social. So I decided to skip on to way #1 of my last food for Vegan Month of Food so I could take them as my contribution to the snack table. And the last food for the month is...sweet potatoes! Sweet dishes, savory dishes, I love them pretty much any way you can make them and am looking forward to experimenting in the next couple days and to enjoying this favorite of mine!

These are such a favorite, that ever since I came up with this combo, I haven't bothered making any other rice paper rolls. I actually usually use the cashew sauce I posted earlier in the month, but my Whole Foods Market has removed its grind-your-own cashew butter machine and I didn't have time to make it from scratch today. So I just replaced the cashew butter with peanut butter. The lime overpowered the peanut butter a bit, so I added about a Tbsp more of PB, a couple dashes of Coconut Aminos and a little salt. Just adjust 'til it tastes right. That's a double batch in the picture. Probably more than I'll need for the rolls, but I don't mind leftovers :D

Sweet Potato-Scallion Rice Paper Rolls (makes 14)

Ingredients:

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 to 2 lbs of sweet potatoes, cut french fry size
14 - 8" rice paper wrappers
4 oz rice noodles (Asian style, not spaghetti noodles) cooked according to package directions, drained and rinsed in cold water
1/2 bunch (about 8) scallions/green onions, white bulb removed and the rest sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. On a rimmed cookie sheet, toss the sweet potatoes in the olive oil until coated. Spread out in a single layer and bake sweet potatoes for 30 minutes, turning them over after 20. Set aside to cool.

When all the components are ready and cool, you can assemble the rolls:

Fill a large pie plate or bowl with very warm water. Place two rice paper wrappers in the water at a time, completely submerged and let sit for about a minute, until they have softened.

Handle each wrapper gently as you place it on your work surface. Place about 3 Tbsp rice noodles in the lower third of the wrapper, leaving about 1-1/2 inches of margin from the far edges on either side (you'll be folding those in.) Place a layer of sweet potato above the noodles (I probably used 8-10 "fries" for each roll). Add scallions (probably about 2 tsp-1 tbsp). To roll, snugly fold the left and right sides of the wrapper over the filling. Lift the bottom of the wrapper over the filling and tuck it underneath the filling, then roll firmly but gently Place the rolls seam side down on a plate or clean cookie sheet. Cut in half when ready to serve. (I cut them at an angle. They just seem fancier that way)

Notes:
1. I cooked 2 pounds of sweet potatoes, but it was a little too much for 14 rolls. So you can cook less. Or do what I did and mix up a little maple syrup and chipotle tabasco. Dip and eat.
2. My work surface is a piece of wax paper taped to the counter.
3. You'll get a setup that works for you after you do it a time or two. My water bowl sits on the counter to the side and I have everything else on the island where I'm assembling the stuff. My assembly station looks like this (sorry for the dark pic - it's raining here today) :

4. Don't feel the need to be too uptight about what goes in the roll. Some will have more rice noodles, some will have more sweet potato. As long as it's close, you're golden. By all means don't stress yourself out by measuring.
3. If you're scared of rice paper rolls, don't be. They are a lot easier than you think!

UPDATE: Harry Potter (kinda) Jack-o-lantern. We had a great time carving, visiting and eating yummies.