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Recipes

How to Make Colorful Melon Basil Summer Rolls

Anya Kassoff

I’ve been traveling quite a bit for the past couple of weeks. One of the beautiful places we stayed at was a woodsy campground on Rainbow river. Last night we came home, repacked and now we’re back on the road, heading south to Miami. As much as I love traveling, it’s always challenging to eat well on the road. These rolls are an easy and refreshing solution for your next summer road trip.

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I’ve noticed that the world is divided into those who love watermelon and those who prefer all other melons to it. I definitely belong to the first group and will pick juicy sweet watermelon any time of day. Occasionally though, I’ll run into a honeydew or cantaloupe that is so irresistibly delicious that I’ll forget about my unconditional love for watermelon. A good melon tastes particularly amazing when framed by the flavor of fragrant herbs like basil and mint. Add the crunch and beautiful color of purple cabbage and carrots, almond pesto and sweet and spicy dipping sauce, and you’ll get just about the perfect summer meal.

Melon Basil Summer Rolls
pinit

Melon Basil Summer Rolls

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time: minutesTotal time: 15 minutesServings:15 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Photo by Anya Kassoff

    Cut the melon in half, remove the seeds, peel and slice the flesh into strips

  2. Photo by Anya Kassoff

    Prepare cabbage and carrots.

  3. Prepare a large bowl of warm water and a working area covered with a damp dish towel. Start dipping your wrappers in the water, one at a time, for a minute or so, until it begins to soften. Don’t keep the wrapper in the water too long to prevent tearing.

  4. Photo by Anya Kassoff

    Place each wrapper on a damp dish towel (one at a time) and begin to fill it. Spread about 1 teaspoon of pesto in the middle of the wrapper, followed by cabbage, 1-2 melon strips, carrots and herbs.

  5. Photo by Anya Kassoff

    Fold the bottom part of the wrapper over the filling, followed by the sides, then roll it tightly.

  6. Serve right away with the sauce or keep covered with a damp dish or paper towel until ready to serve. These rolls are best when eaten within a day or two.

Pesto
pinit

Pesto

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: minutesTotal time: 5 minutesServings:4 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Photo by Julia Maguire

    Combine basil, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor (or blender or magic bullet) and pulse until coarsely chopped.

  2. Add the cheese to the mixture and pulse until combined.

  3. Photo by Julia Maguire

    Slowly pour olive oil into the mixture until it reaches desired consistency.

  4. Season with salt and pepper.

Tamarind Dipping Sauce
pinit

Tamarind Dipping Sauce

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: minutesTotal time: 5 minutesServings:6 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, mix together all of the ingredients thoroughly. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Anya Kassoff
Anya Kassoff is the author of The Vibrant Table - Recipes from My Always Vegetarian, Mostly Vegan and Sometimes Raw Kitchen, with a second cookbook on the way. She was born in Russia and grew up in a family of passionate home cooks. While following several career paths, one passion remained steady: she ended every day in the kitchen, perfecting her cooking intuition and gaining strong interest in whole foods-focused recipes. In 2010, Anya started sharing her healthy culinary discoveries on her blog, Golubka Kitchen, which has since gained a worldwide following. Her recipes have appeared on Oprah.com and Guardian.com. Golubka has been a finalist for Saveur magazine's Best Food Blog awards twice and was cited by Bon Appetit magazine as one of the best vegan and gluten-free blogs. Anya now lives in Florida with her husband and younger daughter. She works in collaboration with her older daughter, Masha Davydova, who photographs all of her recipes.