Collard Wraps

Name: Collard Wraps
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 1 servings
Ingredients: 2 collard leaves (can use more if leaves are small); ⅓ cup hummus bean dip (or cashew cheese, nut dip, or other thick spread/dip — see Notes); raw vegetables (chopped cucumber, chopped bell peppers, shredded lettuce, grated carrot, grated beet, sliced tomatoes , minced fresh herbs ); lightly steamed/broiled vegetables (think of vegetables that benefit from brief cooking such as asparagus spears, chopped green beans, broccoli florets, sliced zucchini); roasted or cooked vegetables (examples include roasted/cooked cubes of winter squash, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, roasted rutabaga, beets, parsnip, cauliflower, grilled or roasted mushrooms.); condiments/preserved foods (things that give a pop of flavor like olives capers, sun-dried tomatoes, kimchi , pickles, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, seasonings salts, etc.); seeds and chopped nuts (if you want to add some crunch try pumpkin, sunflower, hemp seeds, or chopped nuts); cooked grains or beans (sprinkle in some quinoa, millet, cooked lentils; short-grain brown rice good and sticky to help hold fillings); cubed avocado (so good it deserves an entry of its own!)

Dreena Burton

4 years ago

Yields1 ServingPrep Time10 minsTotal Time10 mins

Ingredients

2 collard leaves (can use more if leaves are small)

⅓ cup hummus bean dip (or cashew cheese, nut dip, or other thick spread/dip — see Notes)

Fillings of Choice — Examples Include:

raw vegetables (chopped cucumber, chopped bell peppers, shredded lettuce, grated carrot, grated beet, sliced tomatoes [try to remove extra juices], minced fresh herbs [ex: basil, parsley, cilantro])

lightly steamed/broiled vegetables (think of vegetables that benefit from brief cooking such as asparagus spears, chopped green beans, broccoli florets, sliced zucchini)

roasted or cooked vegetables (examples include roasted/cooked cubes of winter squash, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, roasted rutabaga, beets, parsnip, cauliflower, grilled or roasted mushrooms.)

condiments/preserved foods (things that give a pop of flavor like olives capers, sun-dried tomatoes, kimchi [if you're a fan!], pickles, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, seasonings salts, etc.)

seeds and chopped nuts (if you want to add some crunch try pumpkin, sunflower, hemp seeds, or chopped nuts)

cooked grains or beans (sprinkle in some quinoa, millet, cooked lentils; short-grain brown rice good and sticky to help hold fillings)

cubed avocado (so good it deserves an entry of its own!)

Directions

Choose your collard leaf/leaves. Select ones that are large enough to fill and roll, and also preferably without any tears or holes.

Trim the stalk. About halfway down the length of the collard leaf, the stalk begins to thicken. Use a paring knife and carefully trim under that thick portion to the base, to remove all that heavy stalk. The leaf will be easier to roll — and chew!

If you've steamed the leaf (see note), lightly dry it! Use a paper towel and dab off extra moisture. Otherwise, the collard will be slippery for rolling and messier to eat.

Add your fillings! The fun part! Start with a base to "hold" the fillings — hummus, a nut pate, thick bean dip, slather of tahini — whatever you like. As long as it's fairly thick to help hold some fillings. Then, sprinkle on your remaining fillings, judging on the size of your leaf.

Wrap and roll! Starting at the edge, begin to roll your wrap. As you go, tuck in the sides and continue to roll. If, after rolling, you'd like more fillings, you can usually open it up and tuck in a few extra goodies.

Repeat with the other leaf, slice them in half and serve!

Chef's Notes

Hummus
You can use more or less than ⅓ C depending on the size of the leaves.

Fillings
Generally, I like to pair a balance of some fresh/salty/pungent/sweet flavors in a wrap. So, with a spread of hummus, I might then add the broiled zukes and chopped cukes and bell peppers (fresh), then some olives (salty/pungent), and roasted sweet spuds or avocado (sweet). You can play up whatever filling you like. Once you get started, you'll get the idea and not need to measure or even read the recipe!

Steaming
Raw or steamed? I like to briefly steam my collard leaves. With steaming, the leaf becomes more pliable to roll, but is more delicate. I prefer the flavor with that very brief steaming. Those 10-20 seconds of steam change the texture and flavor. Watch my how-to video for some visual guidance :-).

Collard alternatives
If you have very large kale leaves, you can use those too. Most kale leaves are not quite as large as collards, but you can certainly do smaller ones and fill a bunch. You can also use lettuce leaves for wraps. They aren't nearly as sturdy, however, so fill lightly — and don't steam the leaves.

Recipe by Dreena Burton adapted for WHOLE Life Club (WLC)