Zucchini Rolls (EN)

Serves: 12 rolls

Ingredients:

Zucchini rolls:
1 1/2 small zucchini
1 small carrot
1/2 red paprika
1/4 fresh cucumber
few leaves lettuce

Cashew sour cream:
1 cup raw cashews
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
50-60 ml water

Step by step:

Zucchini rolls:

1. Wash the vegetables.
2. Cut carrot, red paprika, and cucumber into thin stripes (into julienne cut).
3. Dry the lettuce in salad spinner or with the towel, and create small leaves.
4. With mandolin, or cheese cutter, or knife, cut zucchini lengthwise into thin slices. If they are too thick they will break, and if they are too thin they will not hold the filling well. They should simply bend easily when you roll it.

Cashew sour cream:

1. Soak raw cashews in a plain water overnight, and drain just before using. If the weather is hot, it is best to store it in the fridge.
2. In a blender, add cashews, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt and a bit of water.
3. Blend it until the consistency is smooth but still has small pieces of cashews. That is my preference, but of course you can blend it until very smooth.

NOTE: Be careful with adding too much of water! Add a bit at a time. If your blender is weak, you will most likely have to add more water to get that creamy consistency. From time to time, stop the blender, scrape the sides and continue to blend until smooth. For this zucchini rolls it is perfectly fine to have some small pieces of cashews in the final cashew sour cream. I added 1 tsp salt, which makes this cream salty but its intensity will be balanced by raw, unseasoned vegetables. Feel free to start with 1/4 tsp and add more, if you want to.

Assembling the zucchini rolls:

1. Spread some cashew sour cream (about 1 – 1 1/2 tsp) onto zucchini stripe.
2. Put  a piece of lettuce at the beginning of the zucchini stripe,and cover it with 2 to 3 stripes of paprika, carrot, and cucumber.
3. Roll it towards the end.
NOTE: For best instruction on how to make it, watch the video above.
4. Optionally, decorate each zucchini roll with a small dollop of cashew sour cream and fresh parsley.
3. Serve IMMEDIATELY! It is a perfect appetizer and a side dish.

Step by step video: LINK