Hoppin’ John Stuffed Collard Rolls

We tried this recipe to use up some collard leaves and loved it. It's adapted from the How Not to Die Cookbook by Dr. Greger page 158.

Servings 6

Ingredients

1 can crushed tomatoes 28 oz
1 onion minced
1 green bell pepper minced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked brown, black, or red rice
1 1/2 cups cooked black-eyed peas or 1 15 oz can drained and rinsed
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
12 collard leaves washed and trimmed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Pour the crushed tomatoes into a greased 9×13 baking dish and set aside
Steam onion, bell pepper, and garlic with a small amount of water until soft. May saute in oil if you prefer.
Stir in the paprika, thyme, cayenne, and nutritional yeast flakes.
Add in the cooked black-eyed peas and cook about 10 minutes until heated through and flavors are blended. Set mixture aside
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Place each collard leaf one at a time, on a flat work surface, stem side up. Using a sharp knife, remove as much of the thick central rib as you can without cutting through each leaf.
Submerge 2-3 collard leaves at a time in the boiling water for about 3 minutes. Remove from boiling water with a slotted spoon, place in colander and rinse with cold water. Repeat with remaining leaves.
On a flat work surface, place a collard leaf with its stem end nearest you. Place about 3 Tablespoons of rice mixture on the leaf. Fold the sides of the leaf over the middle and then roll the the stem over the filling. Continue rolling tightly tucking in the sides. Place on top of tomatoes in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.
Cover baking dish tightly and bake 50-60 minutes until the rolls are tender. Serve hot.

Notes

Time-saving hints:

You may also make this recipe ahead of time up until the last step of baking. Keep in the fridge up to two days and then bake and serve.

If you don’t have time to assemble the rolls, chop the collard greens and cook until tender. Then add to the remaining ingredients and heat through until hot.