Sandwiches are pretty much my jam and one of my very favorites is the BLT. The freshness of the lettuce and tomato combined with the crispy saltiness of the bacon really just screams picnic in the park or day at the beach to me. When you toss in a few slices of avocado, you’ve pretty much reached ultimate sandwich Mecca in my book.
Another great fact about the BLT is that it’s portable. It won’t get soggy like your standard ham and cheese, and bacon at any temp is delicious, though I can’t say the same for a grilled chicken breast. I much prefer those warm and slathered in a testy pesto sauce.
This Friday my friends and I started our Summer tradition of going to the weekly wine tasting events at Barnsdall Art Park. We set up a blanket on the grass, lay out a spread of tasty treats and go to town on the amazing wine + food combo. We of course always have our standard fruit and cheese plate and maybe some smoked salmon dip, but this year I wanted to switch things up a bit and add some bacon to the mix (naturally). That’s when I stumbled on the idea of making BLT’s in a spring roll wrapper. I was sold. I also made these Gluten Free Turkey Bacon Mac and Cheese Bites to bring along on the picnic. I’m a big fan of portable finger food.
I adapted this recipe from Helpful Homemade.
Makes 12 spring rolls.
Ingredient List:
- 3 roma tomatoes
- 1 head butter lettuce
- 12 spring roll wrappers
- 1 package bacon
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
Kitchen Tools: large baking sheet
Prep Work:
Preheat oven to 350*F. Core, halve, and thinly slice tomatoes. Remove whole leaves from butter lettuce and rinse them. Pat dry with paper towels. Remove pit + skin and thinly slice your avocados.
Cooking:
Lay bacon on baking sheet and cook for about 15 minutes or until desired crispiness is reached. Place on paper towels to soak up some of the excess grease and let cool.
Assembly:
Fill a large bowl about halfway with warm water. Take a single spring roll wrapper and set it in the water for about 10 seconds. Lay on a flat surface. Using a leaf of the butter lettuce as a kind of cup, add 2 half slices of bacon, two slices of tomato, 2 slices of avocado and a thin line of mayo. Wrap the lettuce around your tasty BLTA package and place seam side down slightly off center on your wet wrapper.
Take the shorter side of your wrapper closest to your filling and fold over, pressing the folded wrapper sides onto each other to get them to stick. Fold the edges over the filling and press to seal. Start rolling up the partially sealed spring roll, making sure to keep a tight grip on the filling so that it doesn’t slip out of your wrapper. Tightly wrap the remaining edge of wrapper around the filling and press to seal. Repeat this with remaining wrappers and filling.
Tips + Tricks:
*rolling spring rolls for the first time can be daunting. I used this blog to help me get a better visual the first time I did it.
*your first two rolls might end up looking a little hap hazard, but don’t worry! You can always unwrap them and try again with a fresh wrapper.
