Roasted Root Veggie & Cowpea Collard Green Wraps
Hello friends! Today I’ve got a simple yet delicious recipe to put together some of the current seasonal goodies from the farmers market. The greens, including collards, are widely available, as are all of my favorite root vegetables. I tend to have trouble with my wrap-making skills, but I figured since I got some gorgeous collard greens I might as well put them to use to wrap up a medley of delicious roasted vegetables. No better way to get good at wrapping things than to, well, wrap them! 😉
As you can see, even now in December my farmers still have plenty to choose from. There are only two more markets before they take the holiday break, so I’m stocking up and freezing some things while I can. We’ve got plenty of great grocery stores around, but I’d rather buy local and eat from the freezer if I have to until the market returns after the new year. Luckily it will pick right back up in the second week of January, while most of the other markets don’t start back until the spring. I really am a spoiled veggie-lover!
In addition to my market veggies, I finally cooked my dried White Whippoorwill Cowpeas from our garden this year. I don’t know why I waited so long to cook them. They definitely fall in the same category as black eyed peas or pink eye peas as far as texture, though each of them have subtle differences in flavor. Given that collard greens and black eyed peas are such a classic New Year’s Day combination (bring on the good luck and money for the new year), I think this would probably make a great light option to carry on that tradition. The amount we harvested wasn’t much, but I still got about 5 cups of cooked beans out of our one plant. I put about 2 cups in the filling of this wrap, then froze the other 3 cups to use later.
As I hinted above, my wraps are usually a bit messy. I think I need to get better at the fold and roll technique to really get a nice tight wrap to hold all the goodness inside. However, I did manage to roll these up pretty well. I might not win any wrapping awards, but they held together long enough to devour them!
I’ve seen the collard greens used both cooked and raw in different recipes, but I opted for an easy method I saw in my perusal of the web to pour a bit of boiling water on your rinsed greens just to soften them up ever so slightly. From there I sliced out the thickest part of the stem on each, then got to rolling up my roasted veggie medley. I used a simple mix of rutabaga, sweet potatoes and fennel, but I imagine any seasonal veg combination would be great! So simple, but it turned out to be a very satisfying lunch packed with nutrients to make it through the afternoon slump.
Roasted Veg & Collard Wraps
- 1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
- 1 large or 2 medium rutabaga bulbs, chopped (peeled first if you prefer)
- 1 large bulb of fennel, sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds (plus more to mix in after roasting if you like)*
- 1 tablespoon oil for roasting (can also toss veggies in a bit of veggie broth for an oil-free option)
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 cups cooked cowpeas or beans of choice (1 15-ounce can for an easy option)
- 1 bunch whole collard greens
- hummus
*If your fennel doesn’t come with the fronds, sub in some fresh dill or other herbs you enjoy.
Heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop your root vegetables and place them on a sheet pan. Drizzle with a bit of oil (I used some of my butternut squash seed oil again) then season with just a pinch of salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 40 minutes, stirring halfway, or until cooked through.
Meanwhile prepare your collard green leaves by rinsing off and placing in a colander in the sink. Boil water in a kettle then pour over the leaves to slightly soften them. Let drain then take each leaf onto a cutting board and cut out the thickest part of the stem for easier rolling.
Once the vegetables are done roasting, remove from the oven and place in a bowl with the beans. Sprinkle on some extra fennel fronds if you like or any additional seasoning and mix together. Take a few of the collard leaves and place on a large plate. Spread on a layer of hummus and then spoon on some of the veggie mixture. Tuck in the stem end and top, then roll from the long side so that you are rolling with the stem and not against it. Enjoy!
The amount of servings you get out of the recipe will just depend on how many leaves you have in your bunch of collard greens and how big your root vegetables are. I always err on the side of caution and make extra since I can always use the veggies in other dishes or chop up the extra greens to toss into a soup if we finished the stuffing first.
The slightly bitter greens were great with all of the sweet roasted veggies mixed in and the hummus was just enough to add that bit of creamy texture to bring it all together. You can easily make your own hummus or just use your favorite store-bought variety to make this a really simple meal to put together. I used a basic hummus with plenty of lemon for a bright note. I’ll definitely be doing more of these in the future now that I’m getting over my wrapping hesitance. Now if only I could get better at wrapping holiday gifts…
