This recipe is part of a series using leftover Mexican Pulled Pork Carnitas, a recipe I shared a few weeks ago. So I’ve made this using leftover pulled pork but you can also make this with shredded or diced chicken or beef.
Discovering creative uses for spring roll wrappers (egg roll wrappers) was a revelation. I basically use it as filo pastry – which I never use because I find it so fiddly to do the layers and brushing each layer with butter. The flakiness and crunchiness of baked spring roll wrappers is similar, but they are so much easier to handle. And it bakes really well – I actually prefer baking it to deep frying it. It browns pretty evenly and comes out wonderfully crunchy, and it is a whole lot healthier. So over the years I’ve been exploring different ways to use spring roll wrappers – other than actually making spring rolls (I haven’t ever made spring rolls! Isn’t that odd??). Moroccan cigars (rolled up and filled with spiced mince – delicious!), Samosas (Indian triangles filled with potato – sensational!), baklava (didn’t work so well…), pizza triangles (she shoots, she scores!), Cheese and Spinach triangles (home run!) – the list goes on and on! Mexican Spring Rolls were one of the home runs. They are so ridiculously delicious, I’m seriously contemplating lobbying the Mexican government to make these officially Mexican. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit how little self control I have, but here’s some evidence of how irresistible they are – do you notice that there are a few more Mexican Spring Rolls in the photo below than the photo above? Yep, I consumed them mid photo shoot. Then regretted it when I was taking the later shots because the pile of Mexican Spring Rolls in the background is clearly smaller than it should be.
These are super easy to make – you just combine the filling ingredients, then roll it up in the wrappers, spray lightly with oil so they bake beautifully golden, then bake for 30 minutes. The part that requires a bit of focus is the rolling (that is, until you become an expert!). You simply start with the wrapper placed diagonally in front of you, then place some filling on it and shape it into a log shape. Then starting from the bottom, roll it up half way, tuck the left and right sides in, then finish rolling, sealing with water.
The perfect dip to accompany this is enchilada sauce. I used homemade Enchilada Sauce – it only takes 10 minutes to make and it really is worth making the effort because it is so much better than store bought. A perfect appetiser for your next Mexican inspired get together! SaveSave
