Spring Roll with Lamb Sweetbreads and Three Pepper Sauces

To prepare the sweetbreads: Place the sweetbreads in a bowl of cool water, cover with plastic film, and refrigerate for 24 hours, until white. Pull off any fat. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Add a few grindings of pepper, the vinegar, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 25 – 30 minutes. Drain and plunge the sweetbreads into a bowl of cold water to firm them. When cool, pat dry and remove any membranes and connective tissue. Separate into smaller lobes with your fingers.

To make the sauces: Place the green, yellow, and red peppers in separate small saute pans or skillets and add one third of the chopped onion and one third of the minced garlic to each. Divide the stock and wine among the pans. Bring the pepper mixtures to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the peppers are soft and the liquid is reduced, about 8 minutes. Add one tablespoon of the cream to each and season each with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and blend each with a stick or hand mixer. Strain separately through a fine-meshed sieve. Keep warm until ready to use.

To make the spring rolls: Blanche the garlic leaves: bring a pot of water to a boil and plunge the leaves into the water. Let return to a boil, then immediately remove the leaves and plunge them into a bowl of cold water. Dry with paper towels and chop half of the leaves.

In a saute pan or skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the onions and minced garlic. Add the chopped garlic leaves and chopped spinach and cook until the spinach is slightly wilted. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is translucent and some of the bits have begun to brown slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to mix all the items in the pan well.

Spread a spring roll wrapper on a work surface; keep the remaining wrappers covered with a damp cloth. Place a whole garlic leaf and some of the spinach mixture on the center of the wrapper. Place one fourth of the sweetbreads on the mixture. Cover with more spinach and top with 2 more whole garlic leaves. Brush the edges of the wrapper with egg white. Fold the front edge of the wrapper up over the filling. Fold in the two sides of the wrapper. Roll up to the top of the wrapper, pressing the top edge to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and fillings to make a total of four spring rolls.

Heat the oil to 360 F in a deep fryer or large deep saucepan. Fry the spring rolls until golden brown and crisp on all sides. Remove with a wire lifter or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Do not crowd the spring rolls in the hot oil; it is better to fry them in separate batches, allowing the oil to return to temperature between batches.

To serve: Warm the lamb stock in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and gently whisk in the butter. Place crisp-fried basil leaves around the serving plates. Spoon the three pepper sauces around each plate, and spoon lamb jus in the center. Cut the spring rolls in half on the bias and stand two on each plate.