Rice & Bean Collard Wraps
Author -Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 collard green leaves (medium or large in size)
- 1 cup long-grain brown rice (180g; substitute 3 cups pre-cooked brown or white rice)
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or another neutral vegetable oil)
- 1 small white or yellow onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans (240g cooked beans, or one 15-ounce / 425g can, drained and rinsed)
- 2-3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (to taste)
- 1 cup date sweetened BBQ sauce (or a BBQ sauce of your choice, or another sauce you love)
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add the rice and boil (like pasta) until tender, about 40 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat. Drain the rice and return it to the pot. Cover and allow it to steam for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and fluff the rice gently with a fork. Re- cover and set aside.
- While the rice cooks, trim the bottoms of the collard stems. Lie a leaf flat on a cutting board with the back side (the side on which the center stem protrudes) facing you. Use a paring knife or vegetable peeler to trim down the thick part of the center stem, so that the leaf becomes relatively flat. Repeat with the other leaves.
- Fill a large pot with a few inches of water and fit it with a steamer basket. Bring the water to a boil over medium- high heat. Turn the heat to low. Place the collard leaves in your steamer basket, cover the pot, and steam until tender, about 5 minutes. Pat the leaves dry and set them aside.
- When the rice is ready, heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion and pepper to the skillet. Sauté, stirring often, until the onion and pepper are tender and the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, and tamari to the vegetable mixture and continue heating and stirring for 30 seconds. Add the cooked rice and kidney beans. Mix and heat the rice and beans through, stirring often. Taste the mixture and add apple cider vinegar to your liking—just for a hint of acid. Adjust the tamari for saltiness to taste.
- To assemble the wraps, start by layering about 2/3 cup of the rice and bean mixture horizontally along the bottom third of a collard leaf. Tuck the sides of the leaf in, covering the filling. Roll the wrap up from bottom to top. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling—you may have a little filling leftover, which you can enjoy however you'd like.
- Serve the collard wraps with BBQ sauce for dipping, or drizzle them with sauce before plating. Enjoy.