Every few weeks, we get ourselves in a pickle with having so many veggies in the fridge. I find it relatively easy to use up our weekly CSA share… that is, until we have family that fly in unexpectedly and spend the week with us here in Arizona.
Last week was one of those weeks – after entertaining family for several days, we drove out of town over the weekend to take care of some family business. After getting back, we realized we had SO much produce in the fridge and would be picking up our next weekly share in just two more days.
Yikes!
What to do with an abundance of cabbage, carrots, green onions, and cilantro?! Believe it or not, the food processor came to the rescue. After just a few minutes, the shredded green onions, cilantro, red cabbage and carrots were added to a skillet with some Italian sausage where it was cooked just until soft. Seasonings were added, and we rolled that mixture up in these incredibly easy and yummy egg rolls.
The best part? It’s ok to eat more than few… because they are baked (gasp!) … not fried. Yum! They really are incredible – and they made 24 – which were devoured over the next two days by kids and adults alike.
Enjoy them fresh out of the oven by dunking in some sauce, then wrap up the leftovers and heat up the next day for a tasty snack that will tide you over until your next meal. If you have some older children, they can even help you roll them up and place them on your baking sheet quite easily.
You’ll want to pick up a pack of egg roll wrappers from your local market, and have a small bowl of water handy as you roll ~ follow the package instructions to roll them into shape and wet the ends to keep them from opening up in the oven.
Place seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet (unless you have baking mats) and then lightly brush with a thin (*thin*!) layer of extra virgin olive oil before popping in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Don’t like pork? You can easily make them meat-free, too.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Italian sausage (or pork sausage)
- 1/2 head cabbage, red or green
- 4 strands of green onions
- 2 carrots
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 package egg roll wrappers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and prepare two baking sheets with foil, parchment paper or baking mats - set aside.
- Place your large skillet on the stove top with the sausage and saute just until brown.
- Using your food processor, shred the cabbage, green onions, carrots, and cilantro.
- Add the shredded vegetables to the skillet with 1 Tbsp oil and continue to cook just until they are soft.
- Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Remove from the heat and set the sausage/veggie mixture to the side. Pull out the egg roll wrappers and scoop 2 spoons of filling down the center of each wrapper and fold as noted on the package instructions.
- Wet the end of the wrapper with a little water using your fingers, and place on the baking sheet, seam side down.
- Continue until you have used all wrappers (we made 24 in total but you may have more or less depending on how much you use to fill each roll).
- Lightly brush each egg roll with olive oil - making sure to include the bottom of each (you may have to quickly pick up, brush, then lay back down). Be careful not to use too much oil or they will be soggy.
- Once all egg rolls have been brushed, place the baking sheets in the oven for 20 minutes.
- At the 20 minute mark, open the oven door to check - if lightly brown, flip to cook the underside about 5 more minutes. If they are not brown on top, continue to bake for another 5 minutes before flipping. You may want to rotate the pans (top for bottom, bottom for top!)
- Once browned, remove from the oven - let cool before diving in, they are hot!
- Store leftover egg rolls in a quart-size ziploc bag and reheat by microwave - try to eat within the next 2-3 days.
- If you want to re-crisp them the next day, pop back in the oven in lieu of the microwave - a few minutes at a preheated 400 degrees should be sufficient.
Leave a Reply