Collard Green Wraps
When I think of collard greens, I think of a long cooking process given the toughness of their leaves. I love well prepared collard greens that have been cooking for hours filled with flavors of bacon (or turkey neck), vinegar, and even some scotch bonnets in there. Over the last few years I’ve fallen in love with them as a wrap; naturally gluten free alternative for those of us with celiac disease. They are full of fiber and nutrients (calcium, Vitamins A, C, and K) all while getting an extra veggie in at any meal. I’ve seen plenty of people posting recipes with raw collard greens as wraps, but for me that are just too tough and not as flexible to wrap if they are not blanched. Below is my process for prepping and storing my collard green wraps. While it takes a bit of time, it is worth it, and you can easily add this to your meal prep days and have wraps for the week.
Collard wraps are very versatile – last night we used them to wrap our burgers with spicy dill pickles (oooh how we miss Bareburger), however we have also used the to wrap grilled chicken breast and more. You can fill them with whatever you like, make a complete vegetarian or vegan wrap, or simply just swap out some bread for a lower carb option.
How to: now that you know how to prep them, learning to wrap them is super simple…think of a large tortilla to make a burrito! We double our leaves up (not necessary but that is how we like it), also helpful if you have smaller leaves. Simply lay your leaf (or leaves) on a flat surface (stem side up!), place your filling about an inch or two above the bottom edge, fold bottom of leaf over the filling, fold sides over the center, and roll on up. As with a tortilla, the larger the surface, the easier it is to roll, again you can always double up your leaves to create a bigger surface by over lapping them. Once rolled, you can eat as is (above), or cut in half (below).
Collard Green Wraps
Equipment
- Chef's Knife
- Stock Pot
- Cutting Board
- Large Bowl
- Parchment Paper
- Ziptop Bag
Ingredients
- 1 Bunch Collard Greens
- Kosher Salt as needed
- Apple Cider Vinegar as needed
- Water
Instructions
- Fill sink or extra large bowl with water; add collard greens and wash carefully to remove any dirt
- Drain water, and repeate process until you no longer see dirt at the bottom of the sink or bowl
- While the leaves are soaking, bring a large stock pot of water to a boil
- Add kosher salt generously (as you would if making pasta or potatoes)
- Drain collard greens. One at a time, lay on a flat surface (such as a large cutting board), flip leave so the stem of the leave is facing up, cut across the leave to remove the stem of the greens, so you have a straight edge at the bottom
- Then with your Chef's knife, carefully trim the thick part of the stem that remains so the leaf lays flat
- Once all leaves have been prepped, create an ice bath by filling a large bowl 3/4 with water, ice cubes, and 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, set aside
- To the stock pot of boiling salted water, add two to three collard leaves at a time. After 30-45 seconds remove from the water and immediately place in ice bath. You'll notice how quickly the leaves turn a bright green.
- Repeat process until all leaves have been blanched
- Let leaves sit in ice bath for about 20 minutes
- Once the leaves have cooled, drain water, and dry leaves with paper towels or a tea towel
- To store prepared collard wraps, I lay each leaf between parchment paper and store in a ziptop bag for up to one week in the refigerator
Notes
July 6, 2020 at 9:00 am | Chef's Corner, Culinary, Dairy-Free, Egg Free, Fish Free, FODMAP Friendly, Gluten-Free, Peanut Free, Recipe, Shellfish Free, Soy Free, Top 8 Free, Tree Nut Free, Uncategorized, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free | No comment
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