If you never could relate to the term, “burst of flavor”, this dish will solve that. You will understand quickly how flavor really can burst in your mouth! Tangy lime, sharp ginger, flavorful red onion, toasted coconut, sweet mango chutney, and roasted peanuts all in one spinach roll lends a powerful punch of flavor that is a lovely snack or appetizer, but we first had it at a tea house. This lovely dish is also gluten-, dairy-, and grain-free, and vegan, which is pretty convenient for those of us who are!
My daughter and I went out on a mommy-daughter date sometime ago, and we went to a local tea shop (Tao of Tea). Along with a pot of chai tea, we ordered their spinach rolls and we liked them so much, we decided to make our own version at home. The fun thing about these, is that they really did go so nicely with our tea, but they are so different from what we generally think of as “tea food”. I tend to think of the more British tea foods, like scones, and biscuits and cucumber sandwiches (all of which are, of course, very delicious). This tea dish is a wee bit more exotic, and a very fun change of tea food scenery.
Plus, it has be really high in anti-oxidants! The limes are cut into teeny-tiny wedges with the peel. So much flavor is in that rind! Plus, citrus rind contains limonoids which could have anti-cancer properties, as does the onion and spinach. Ginger is a traditional digestive aid, mango is a source of several important vitamins, and coconuts are a favorite of the health food community.
But, the real reason we like this dish is because it tastes so good. Plus, it is very easy to vary the ingredients at whim. If you can’t have peanuts, replace with whatever nut you’d like! Or make nut free by leaving it out, or replacing with chilled white beans, chunks of cooked and chilled chicken, etc.
- 1-2 heads of spinach, well washed, stems trimmed, and dried
- ¼ cup soaked and dehydrated peanuts, or roasted
- ¼ cup of coconut flakes (medium or large flakes)
- 1 lime (organic especially preferred since you will be consuming the peel)
- ½ small red onion, peeled
- ¼ cup of mango chutney
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- In a small/medium pan over medium heat, lightly toast the coconut flakes until a light brown, constantly stirring. Remove from pan and cool.
- Wash the lime, and then cut off the stem. You will only need half of it. Cut into thin wedges, and then cut those wedges into very small pieces.
- Dice the red onion finely
- Peel the ginger, and grate finely.
- Stack the spinach leaves. Poke a toothpick through the spinach, if desired, to keep them nicely stacked.
- Place on a serving platter with the rest of the ingredients in separate piles on the platter
- Serve with spoons. To eat, each person can pile on whatever ingredients they want on a spinach leaf and roll it up to enjoy.
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These look like they would be an amazing appetizer or side dish. I am always looking for things that I can serve before dinner to snack on. I am going to have to give these a try and share the recipe. Thank you for sharing!
The ingredients list sounds amazing- I’m going to try these but chop up the spinach and roll it all up as a rice paper roll- do ahead for a tea party- thanks!
I can’t have spinach because it is extremely high in oxalates, but I would love this dish with lettuce!