Vegan Spring Roll

Yesterday, I took a quick look at the photos I recently posted on my Instagram account and was a bit horrified.

Wow, I've posted so many dough-based recipes lately.

On one hand, I’m a known lover of baking and dough (yes, even during a cutting phase), but on the other hand, I know that baking can be tricky and even lead to weight gain.

So, it's time for a little variety.

Even though Shavuot is just around the corner and everyone is busy with cheesecakes or crazy quiches, I felt like publishing a recipe that can be served for the holiday dinner without being high in calories or carbs.

Something you can eat without guilt while still feeling festive.

What do you say to vegan spring rolls with homemade soy cheese and root vegetables?

Let's start with the soy cheese.

Some of you might not know this, but making soy cheese at home is one of the easiest things you can do.

Don't believe me? Keep reading.

All you need is soy milk and lemon juice or vinegar.

• Almond milk or other plant-based milks won't work here because you need milk with high protein content for it to curdle.

If the texture reminds you of tofu, you're absolutely right—it's the same process as making tofu. I wrote about it extensively in this post.

You can use your homemade cheese to fill savory or sweet pastries (sorry, I can't help it), eat it straight with a spoon, or toss it into a large vegetable salad.

For this holiday, I'm rolling the soy cheese in rice paper along with root vegetables. It's a colorful, happy dish—low in calories and gluten-free.

How to serve?

2 rolls make an excellent dinner solution, accompanied by a large salad during a cutting phase or when you want to stay on track.

Nutritional values per roll:

Vegan Spring Roll

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Serving Size 5 Spring Rolls

Ingredients

For the Soy Cheese

• 2 liters Unsweetened soy milk Alpro soy milk in the red package is ideal as it is completely unsweetened
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Clean cheesecloth Regular cotton or towel fabric will not work

For the Spring Roll

• 5 Rice paper sheets
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 cup Grated root vegetables - beet, kohlrabi, and carrot
• 1/2 Chopped green onion
• 1 Crushed garlic clove
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt

Instructions

1. Start with the soy cheese.
2. Pour the soy milk into a pot and bring it to a boil.
3. Turn off the heat and pour in the lemon juice.
4. Stir, and that's when the magic happens—the soy milk curdles. Clumps will form in the milk (as if it’s spoiled—but it’s not, don't panic!).
   
5. Make sure to pour the lemon juice while the milk is hot.
6. Spread the cheesecloth over a strainer and pour the soy milk onto it.
7. Squeeze the soy milk through the cloth until most of the liquid is drained. You can use wooden spoons, something heavy, or hang it over the sink. Be careful—the cloth is hot.
8. Then, open the cloth and... voila! You have cheese. Transfer it to a bowl. It may not look like much, but it is incredibly delicious.
   
9. Season the cheese with lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic.
10. Roll the spring rolls:
11. Take one rice paper sheet and dip it in a bowl of water for 2-3 seconds. No more than that is needed.
12. Spread the rice paper on a work surface and pat dry with a towel to remove excess water.
13. Place a tablespoon and a half of the soy cheese with some of the root vegetables near the beginning of one side of the rice paper, but not right at the edge. Leave a gap of a few centimeters as shown in the picture.
    
14. Fold the sheet, first by its two top corners, as seen in the image above.
15. Then, roll it from the side with the filling toward the other side.
16. Serve with a sauce of lemon juice and a little olive oil.