Prawn Spring Rolls

Get the kids involved in making these. They are fun and extremely tasty. Filo/phyllo pastry is a great standby and here wraps up a rice, prawn/ shrimp and vegetable filling, but you could use your imagination to add other ingredients, depending on what you have in the cupboard or the refrigerator. Flaked canned tuna works well, as does shredded cooked chicken or extra vegetables.

MAKES 6 rolls

PREPARATION TIME 15 minutes

COOKING TIME 18 minutes

FOR THE PRAWN/SHRIMP FILLING

250g/9oz/11/3 cups cooked basmati rice (using shop-bought pre-cooked, leftovers or freshly cooked)

100g/3½oz cooked, peeled prawns/ shrimp

100g/3½oz carrots, peeled and grated

½ red pepper, deseeded and diced

1–1½ tsp sweet chilli dipping sauce, plus extra to serve (or tomato ketchup if preferred)

FOR WRAPPING

6 sheets of fresh filo/phyllo pastry, cut into 12 23cm/9in squares

sunflower or vegetable oil, for brushing

 

1 Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

2 Mix together all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Lay a sheet of filo/ phyllo pastry on the work top or board and brush lightly with oil. Put another sheet of pastry on top and brush lightly with oil. Turn the square so that one corner of the pastry is pointing towards you.

3 Spoon about one-sixth of the filling onto the corner nearest you. Fold this corner towards the centre and tuck it under the filling. Fold the two outside corners to the middle so it looks like an envelope. Brush lightly with oil, then roll up to look like a sausage shape. Brush once more and put it on a non-stick baking sheet. Repeat until you have made the rest of the spring rolls. (Cook straight away or chill until needed.)

4 Bake for 15–18 minutes until the rolls are lightly golden and crisp. Leave to cool slightly, then serve with extra sweet chilli dipping sauce or tomato ketchup.

Leftovers with filo and chocolate

sweet sticks

If you had to cut rectangles of filo/phyllo pastry into squares and you’ve ended up with some pastry trimmings, they can be used to make chocolate or jam sweet sticks. Carefully spread 1–2 tsp chocolate and hazelnut spread or jam in a fairly even layer on top of the pastry, then roll up down the length of the pastry, creating a stick shape. Brush with a little oil and dust with icing/confectioners’ sugar. Put on a non-stick baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 220°C/425°F fan/gas 7 for about 8 minutes until golden.