Spicy bean dolmas in collard greens
I love the idea of dolma's but I am not fond of the bitter grape leaves. Often they are filled with bits of lamb, rice and parsley and the grape leaves are very oily. Well I decided to try them with collard greens as the wrapper then got fairly inventive with the filling. They turned out great!
Ingredients
- 6-8 Collard green squares Cut the largest squares you can from either side of the ribs of collard green leaves. Aim for a 4-5" square. Save the unused greens for another use.
- 1 Cup Garbanzo or white beans
- 2 Tbsp Pimento May substitute hatch chili's
- 1 Tsp Calabrian Chili paste
- 1 Slice Preserved lemon
- 1/2 Tsp Garlic powder
- 1 Tsp Finely chopped onion
- 1/2 Tsp Oregano
- 4 Tbsp Vinegar
- 2 Cups Boiling water - salted About 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut squares from the largest sections of your collard green leaves. Avoid the ribs.
- Wash your collard wraps and place them in a dish where they can lay out flat. Pour in vinegar and the boiling salted water and let them soak.
- Finely chop onion and pimento
- Mash beans and add in chopped pimento, onion and calabrian chile.
- Wash the salt from the lemon and chop into a 1/4" dice.
- Add seasonings to the bean mixture.
- Taste and add salt and pepper if you wish. The preserved lemon is quite salty on it's own so there is no added salt. Mix the beans well to incorporate all of the ingredients.
- Remove collards from water and set aside. No need to rinse. Place one on a cutting board to assemble.
- Divide mixture to equal portions for the number of collard wraps. Place a scoop in the middle. Fold sides over the filling then roll the wrap tightly around the filling. Place in a tray seam side down.
- Repeat the folding process until all of the leaves are used. Chill the dolma's or serve them room temperature. There is no need to cook these.
Notes
This is a Snap Pea Sheep recipe.
I literally get kitchen shears and cut squares from the largest part of my collard leaves. I then wash them well and blanch them in salted vinegar water to make them soft and take away some of the chewiness. Chard works well too!
My husband likes to use a tabasco like chili sauce on these. He thinks any type of greens need a spicy hot vinegar sauce. Not Greek in the slightest but then these are not traditional Greek dolma's.
Using these collard wraps opens up possibilities. I stuff them with rice, cilantro, roasted green chile's seasoned with fenugreek, mustard seed and a splash of rice vinegar.