As people get ready to celebrate Easter this weekend, most look forward to the traditions they grew up with--traditions that usually involve food. For those interested in expanding their meal with some new, multicultural menu items, Marni from Kensington Kitchen has a step-by-step recipe for lumpia (including local sources for ingredients), a staple on her family's holiday tables. Her take on the Filipino fried spring rolls that her mom makes for most big occasions are a great appetizer or side for a large gathering, and the recipe could very well become one that your own family revisits year after year.
We headed over to help with chopping, shredding, rolling, and, most importantly, taste-testing. Assembling the vegetable lumpia, as Marni points out, can be a time-consuming task, but one that can be done ahead of time and made faster with extra helping hands--even kids can work on these. They can be fried or broiled--Marni and Raphe did both, and it was impossible to tell the difference. Both methods yielded crispy, light, finger foods, and if you're not careful you might end up eating the whole batch yourself.
Once you're addicted to lumpia, you may want to revisit your traditional Easter ham. The Kensington Kitchen crew also made hamonada, a pineapple braised pork. Be sure to check their blog for the recipe in the next few days.
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