Freshly Blogged Recipe Competition Week 1: Thai Spring Rolls with Sticky Orange Soy Sauce and Caramelised Pineapple Baskets

Thai Spring Rolls with Sticky Orange Soy Sauce and Caramelised Pineapple Baskets

To all my dearest readers and followers, I am taking part in a recipe developing food competition called Freshly Blogged. Each week I get sent a list of ingredients which I have to use in a recipe of my own. Each week I submit the recipe, with a photograph and then people vote. Voters can win prizes and so can I....
While I am competing with people who are older and more experienced than me, I thought it would be such a fun competition to take part in and I love a recipe challenge as it helps me to improve my own cooking and culinary skills.

For the first week, we had to make a recipe with the following ingredients:

2 packets (500g each) Findus Wok Thai vegetables
1 roll (500g) PnP phyllo pastry
PnP cook additions crushed garlic, ginger and dhania paste
PnP 2-minute noodles (any flavour of your choice)
1 orange
1 pineapple

The rules for the first week stated that we were allowed to omit one ingredient, add one ingredient and that the dish must be vegetarian. I omitted the noodles, added soy sauce and made Thai Spring Rolls with Sticky Orange Soy Sauce and Caramelised Pineapple Baskets. In addition to the stipulated ingredients, we have a list of pantry items which we are allowed to use. These include:
Olive oil, Vegetable oil, Salt, Pepper, Flours (cake, wholewheat, bread and self raising), Baking powder, Bicarbonate of soda, Yeast, Butter, Milk, Eggs, Sugar (granulated, castor, icing, brown and treacle) and vStock (powder or liquid – beef, chicken, fish, vegetable).

See below for the recipe and pics and please click on the link at the bottom to vote for me in the competition!

VOTE FOR ME HERE: http://freshlyblogged.co.za/recipe/findus-phyllo-fiesta/

For the spring rolls:

Extra-virgin olive oil
2 heaped tsp PnP cook additions crushed garlic, ginger and dhania paste
2 packets (500g) Findus Wok Thai vegetables
2 heaped Tbsp of 5mm cubes of pineapple
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 roll (500g) PnP phyllo pastry
Half a cup of melted butter

For the orange soy sauce:

Juice of 1 orange, plus grated zest
1/4 cup Vital Original Soy Sauce
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1 Tbsp pineapple juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar

For the baskets:

3 Tbsp butter, plus extra for the baskets
3 Tbsp brown sugar
Remaining pineapple, cut into 1cm cubes/ triangles
Grated orange zest
Remaining PnP phyllo pastry

Stir fry vegetables

For the spring rolls:

Place a wok over high heat. Cook 1 tsp PnP paste, stirring for 30 seconds, then add 1 packet of vegetables. Stir and add 1 Tbsp pineapple cubes and season. Cook, stirring, for 5-7 minutes, until veg is heated through, but still crunchy. Spoon veggies onto a plate with a slotted spoon and let cool. Wipe wok clean and repeat with the second batch.
Roll out a single layer of phyllo pastry, and cut it into quarters. Repeat to make 12 quarters. Divide each plate of cooled stir-fry into 6 portions. Place a single portion on a phyllo quarter, fold into a parcel and roll, sealing the end of the roll with melted butter. Repeat to make 12 large spring rolls.
Place spring rolls on 2 greased baking trays and coat with butter. Bake at 160 degrees for 25 minutes, until lightly golden and crispy.

Homemade spring rolls

For the orange soy sauce:

Place orange juice (just more than a 1/4 cup), 1 Tbsp grated orange zest, soy sauce, vegetable stock (dissolve 1 Knorr vegetable stockpot into 1 cup water and use 1/4 cup of this), pineapple juice into a small pot over medium heat. Stir in sugar to dissolve (adding more to taste). Reduce until liquid is sticky and syrup-like. (Stir in a little boiling water to loosen, if necessary, before serving.)

freshly squeezed orange juice

For the baskets:

Place butter in a small pot over medium heat, stir in sugar to dissolve, add pineapples. Squeeze juice from the chopped pineapple skin - get as much pineapple in as possible.
Make phyllo baskets while the pineapples caramelise, stirring mixture occasionally.
Grease four cups of a six-cup muffin tray. Layer small squares of leftover pastry - painting each layer with melted butter - over each other, making 4 to 5 layers thick. Cut layers into circular shapes big enough to fit into a muffin cup (edges hanging over). You should make 4 baskets. Bake baskets at 160 degrees for 20 minutes, until crispy and lightly golden. Remove and allow to cool slightly.
Divide the slightly cooled caramelised pineapples into four parcels. Garnish with orange zest. To serve, divide the 12 spring rolls among 4 plates. Serve with sticky sauce for dipping and pineapple baskets for dessert.

caramelised pineapples

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