Lamb spring rolls

After 2 or 3 meals lately that spotlighted lamb, I was surprised to find the sumptuous meat at WalMart.  I know, I know.  I hate to buy meat from there since the first time I did, it was recalled, but I saw a vacuum-packed pound of ground lamb on "clearance" and really couldn't resist.  I really wanted to make the lamb for dinner before P left for his trip out of town, I had all these fantastic ideas, but in the end, I ran out of time and had to make it Sunday night in a hurry.  The solution?  Lamb spring rolls

I browned the lamb with onions, red bell peppers, beet greens, mushrooms, raisins, and a cape malay seasoning blend (essentially corriander with curry powder) since P loves South African flavors.  Then, I rolled 2 Tbsp of the mixture, along with 5 or so pieces of spring lettuce, into a piece of rice paper.  Viola!  Dinner was served.  My intent was to serve this with a yogurt, lemon juice, and mint sauce, but alas, we were out of yogurt, so P and I had curry sauce to dip ours into and the kids opted for no sauce.  Of course, after the fact, I thought that I should have made a concoction that my girlfriend Sharon makes, vinegar, sugar, garlic and pepper.  Oh well, next time.

Either way, P LOVED them and said that it should be my appetizer of choice for dinner parties.  Of course, I think they would have turned out better had I wrapped them in a wonton wrapper and friend them, but you have to make sacrifices when it comes to your health, so hence the boring rice paper.

I'd really love to say that the kids were right on board with the whole meal, but it would be an untruth. L sat there with his hands crossed for the first 20 minutes, sour puss on his face.  J and C at least tried to eat them, but I think the texture of the rice paper was just too chewy.  They did, however, yet their whole meal once I helped them to navigate the bite taking process.  And, after much coaxing, L decided to take a bite and realized that he "loves them. This is the tastiest meal ever!"  Of course, his dinner of chicken nuggets and 3 servings of mac n cheese at his friend's house tonight now holds the dubious honor of best meal ever in his book, but what can I say?  I love me some mac n cheese, too! hahaha

Give it a try!