Tried & Tested: Peking duck summer rolls & J.Lohr Wildflower, Valdiguie

Cravings for a delicious takeaway style treat but want to stay healthy for summer?

This week I tried and tested a lighter version of the classic Peking duck wraps using plenty of refreshing ingredients, and rice paper over the usual flower coated pancakes; creating more of a summer roll style dish as an alternative.  With the duck being a slightly heavier meat than the chicken you'd usually come across in a summer roll, I thought I'd try a red wine match, as it can never hurt to have a few summer appropriate reds on hand for a change from the white and sparkling we often lean towards in the warmer weather.

I chose the J.Lohr, Wildflower, Valdiguie, 2014 which, after having been a little chilled in the fridge for just a little before opening, was full of juicy berry flavours (perfect for drinking on its own during the very welcome heatwave we've been having)!

The wine worked well with elements of the dish, the freshness of the cucumber, spring onion and rice paper wraps, along with the slightly richer element of the duck were nicely balanced by the sweet, fruitiness of the wine.  The hoi sin sauce was a little too thick and sweet for such a light and fruity wine, so I'd perhaps opt for a lighter dressing, keeping the main focus the crunchy and refreshing greens in this light summer snack.

I went with what I know for this recipe; simple ingredients all thrown together, wrapped up (the tricky bit), and sliced into bite-size pieces.

To make enough for 2 people as a main, or a few more as party finger food, all you need is: 1/2 peking shredded duck (available in most supermarkets), rice paper, a handful of coriander, 2 spring onions and 1/2 cucumer (sliced to about 10cm in length - just under the length of your rice paper), and Hoisin sauce.  You can make this yourself (see BBC recipe here), but it often comes with the shredded duck.

The rice paper rolls are the most fiddly but (best to follow individual pack instructions), but as long as you don't over fill your rolls, you can wrap up all of the ingredients quite securely.  Can be served per person as a full roll, but look great sliced up and served as summer garden party miniatures too.

By Olivia Moore