Stuffed Collard Green Rolls

Blanched collard leaves rolled around a ground beef and rice filling and simmered in a buttery tomato broth. A gluten-free Black Sea home-style dish.

Ingredients

• 500 g collard greens
• 300 g ground beef (20% fat)
• 150 g white rice
• 150 g onion
• 30 g (1 heaped tbsp) tomato paste
• 30 g (2 tbsp) butter
• 20 g (1½ tbsp) olive oil
• 3 g (2 tsp) dried mint
• 3 g (1 tsp) red pepper flakes
• 2 g black pepper
• 10 g (2 tsp) salt
• 500 g (2 cups) water

Instructions

1. 1

   Wash the collard leaves and shave down the thick central ribs with a knife. Bring all the water to a boil in a wide pot and blanch the leaves in batches for 3-4 minutes; lift them out and keep the blanching water for cooking.

2. 2

   Grate the onion; rinse and drain the rice. Knead together the ground beef, rice, onion, half the tomato paste, the olive oil, dried mint, red pepper flakes, black pepper and two-thirds of the salt.

3. 3

   Cut large leaves along the rib into two or three pieces. Place 1 heaped teaspoon of filling at the wide end of each, fold in the sides and roll up tightly, about finger-thick.

4. 4

   Line the bottom of a pot with torn or small leaves and pack the rolls tightly on top.

5. 5

   Dissolve the remaining tomato paste, the butter and the remaining salt in the reserved blanching water and pour over the rolls; weigh them down with an inverted plate.

6. 6

   Cover, bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer on low for 45-50 minutes, until the rice and leaves are tender.

7. 7

   Remove from the heat, rest for 10 minutes and serve hot with the cooking juices.

Nutrition

Per serving