Catching up on some recipe-posting while enjoying Baseball Opening Day.

Steamed Collard Wraps

made on March 11, 2014
adapted from Steamed Collard Wraps in The Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen by Talya Lutzker

My local coop has had the most fabulous greens this winter (chard, kale, collards).  Recently I bought two bunches of collards and then needed to use them.  Here’s what I did with most of them.

Ingredients

1-2 bunches of collard greens (as many leaves as you want wraps); I made 10 wraps

Protein (choose one or more)

• 8 oz. hummus (homemade or store bought)
• one 2-oz bundle of bean thread vermicelli, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, then drained
• shredded chicken

Vegetables

• 1 cucumber, julienned or sliced thin with a mandolin
• 1/2 red onion, julienned
• 2-3 carrots, grated (use some for dipping sauce below)*
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 3-4 scallions, thinly sliced*
• 2/3 cup chopped cilantro*

for Dipping Sauce

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. rice vinegar
• 1-2 Tablespoons fish sauce
• 2-3 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 2-4 Tablespoons chopped peanuts
• 2-4 Tablespoons grated carrots*
• 1-2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro*
• 1-2 Tablespoons chopped scallions*

Directions

1. Remove the stems from the collard greens by slicing along each side of the stems so that each leaf is cut in half lengthwise and each half remains intact.
2. In a large pot with a steamer basket and 1″ of water in the bottom, steam the collard greens for 60-90 seconds each or until just  softened and pliable enough to work with.  Transfer collard greens to a separate bowl or colander.
3. Create an assembly line with the remaining ingredients, having all in easy reach.
4. Place 2 collard leaf halves lengthwise on top of each other overlapping a couple of inches along the center.
5. Place 1-2 heaping tablespoons of your chosen protein at one end.  Top with a few of each of the vegetables.
6. Carefully fold the end of the collard leaves over the filling and roll like a burrito, folding in the sides as you go.
7. Secure the wrap with a toothpick to keep it from unrolling.

Make Dipping Sauce*

In a small saucepan combine sugar and water; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Stir in rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, and red chili peppers.  Pour sauce into serving bowl.  Chill, then top with peanuts, carrots, cilantro, and scallions.

Serve collard wraps with the dipping sauce or a creamy cucumber dressing.

Enjoy!

Notes

• You might want to put some sort of sauce inside the wraps, rather than dipping (or to make the wraps more “portable”.  Just remember that there’s nothing in these wraps to absorb excess moisture.
• I was hoping for larger wraps, but these are more appetizer size . . . but if you eat 2-3 of them, they can be a meal 🙂

©2014, Lucinda DeWitt

*The dipping sauce recipe was adapted from the Spring Roll Sauce recipe in Keo’s Thai Cusine cookbook by Keo Sananikone