Collard Leaf Wraps with White Bean Spread and Brown Rice

Ingredients

0 of 16 out on the counter

• 8 large collard leaves (enough to make 4 cups / 144 g chopped), thick stem ends trimmed
• 2 cups cooked white beans, no-salt-added cannellini, drained and rinsed (about 1⅓ drained 15-oz cans)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice, for the spread
• 2 tsp dried dill
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp cold water, for the spread
• 2 cups cooked brown rice, cooked in unsalted water and cooled
• 2 cups grated carrot
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1 tbsp lemon juice, for the cabbage
• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled and cut in 8 strips
• ¼ cup unsalted roasted pumpkin seeds
• Water for blanching and for the ice bath

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Put a wide pot of water on to boil. Set a large bowl of ice water and a clean towel beside the stove. Trim the thick stem end off each leaf, then slice the rib down thin so the leaf lies flat.
2. 2Make the spread: blend the beans, olive oil, 3 tbsp lemon juice, dill, garlic powder, pepper, salt and 3 tbsp cold water for about 1 minute, until smooth and thick enough to hold a spoon. It makes about 2 cups.
3. 3Toss the cabbage with 1 tbsp lemon juice in a bowl and leave it while you do the leaves.
4. 4Blanch the collard leaves two or three at a time: hold each under the boiling water for 30 seconds, until bright green and bendy. Lift it into the ice water for 30 seconds, then lay it on the towel and pat both sides dry.
5. 5Lay a leaf rib side up with the stem end toward you. Spread about ¼ cup of the bean spread over the lower third. Add ¼ cup of rice, ¼ cup of carrot, ¼ cup of the cabbage, one avocado strip and 1½ tsp of pumpkin seeds, all in a line along the spread.
6. 6Fold the stem end up over the filling, fold the two sides in, and roll away from you until the seam is on the bottom. Make the other seven the same way. Cut each in half on the slant.
7. 7To carry them: wrap each wrap in parchment and pack them in a cooler with plenty of ice or frozen gel packs, cold from the refrigerator (USDA FSIS). Eat within 2 hours of taking them out of the refrigerator, or within 1 hour if it is above 90 °F outside (CDC); after that, throw them away.
8. 8At home, keep unrolled parts apart: the spread, rice, carrot and cabbage in covered containers in the refrigerator up to 3 days (our kitchen practice; we hold no published source for it yet). Blanch and roll the morning you eat them.