a few weeks ago Erin (from the super spectacular
Vegan Homemade!)
posted about about working on a deeeelicious tempeh 'n lentil stuffed collards recipe that she was inspired to create (her idea came from
a food network recipe for pork stuffed collard greens she wanted to veganize). i thought the stuffed collards sounded most scrumptious and when she posted
her recipe last week i decided to try something similiar - changing it around a good bit to work with what we had on hand here at the house. the results were absolutely excellent! thank you so much for the inspiration, Erin!!! you better believe we'll be making
your recipe super soon - we just need to grab some more
local tempeh next time we're at our
local natural foods store to make it happen! both dan & i really, really loved these lentil stuffed collards & the easy marinara. dan said it's the best batch of marinara we've created so far - i think it's in part to the addition of the sun-dried tomatoes! mmmmmmmmm! alrighty, here's what we did...
ingredients: 12 medium-sized collard leaves, rinsed well and just the thickest end of the stem cut off (you want your collards to end up looking like big sea shells – so get cut off the tail/stem just at the end)
1 cup uncooked lentils
5 cups veggie broth, divided
1 tsp sea salt, divided
¼ cup raw walnuts
¼ cup raw pine nuts
¼ cup nutritional yeast
2 large yellow onions, finely diced, divided
2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
3 scallions, white & green parts sliced thin
10 big ‘ol cloves garlic, crushed & minced – divided
4 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp black pepper, divided
2 tsp tomato paste
2 sun-dried tomatoes, re-hydrated in hot water (or veggie broth)
2 tbsp dried basil (use 20 fresh leaves of basil if you’ve got it!)
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp peanut oil
what you’ll need: - large pot + water (for blanching the collard leaves)
- large skillet
- large casserole dish + lid
- medium pot + lid
- large mixing bowl
- potato smasher
- food processor (or blender)
what’cha gotta do:rinse lentils & add to the medium-sized pot with 4 cups of veggie broth. bring to a boil, cover with lid, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. drain & set aside. while your lentils are cooking go ahead & start on cooking the onions…
heat 1 tsp peanut oil in the skillet on medium-high heat. saute just ½ of your chopped onions (so you’re just sautéing 1 onion total, or ½ of what the recipe’s call’n for) until it begins to soften. reduce heat to medium & add in ½ tsp sea salt & ½ of the minced garlic (equivalent to 5 cloves). saute for another minute then turn off the heat.
place walnuts, nooch, and pine nuts in the food processor and pulse until the nuts are well ground.
once the lentils are cooked & drained add them to the skillet with the sauteed onions. turn heat to medium, add in poultry seasoning, 1 tsp black pepper, fresh parsley, and scallions. cook for 3-5 minutes then transfer this mixture to the mixing bowl. smash up the mixture just a bit (about ½ the lentils you want smashed - leaving ½ still kinda whole) then mix in the ground nuts/nutritional yeast mixture. combine well, adjust seasonings to taste (we added in another ½ tsp sea salt, i believe), and set aside.
fill the large pot half way with water, add ½ tsp sea salt & bring to a boil. drop in ½ the collard leaves and blanch for 1 minute. remove from heat and blanch the other ½. place a collard leaf on your counter top with the inside of the leaf facing up. grab a small handful of the lentil mixture and give it a squeeze in your hand so you form a little dolma sized “log” (tee hee!). place the mixture on the collard leaf towards the bottom (and in the center of the bottom) - near the fat end of the stem. roll the collard leaf up and tuck in the sides as you roll. place the stuffed collard leaf in the casserole dish & repeat with the remaining leaves. pour the remaining cup of the veggie broth over the stuffed collards, cover casserole dish with lid, and cook on 350 degrees (no need to preheat the oven!) for 30 minutes. remove from heat & allow to cool for a few minutes. while your stuffed collards are cook’n up you can start the easy-peasy marinara! w00t!
clean out the large skillet, add 1 tbsp olive oil, and heat pan to medium heat. saute the remaining ½ of the onions until they just begin to brown & add in the remaining ½ of the minced garlic cloves. saute for another minute, add in tomatoes and cook until they soften up a good bit (about 5-8 minutes). transfer the sauteed tomatoes ‘n onions to your food processor (or blender), add in the re-hydrated sun-dried tomatoes, and pulse until you get a nice sauce to the consistency you love the most. return the blended sauce to the skillet, reduce heat to low, add in tomato paste, basil, oregano, dried parsley, and 1 tsp black pepper. simmer for 10 more minutes, stir in balsamic vinegar, adjust seasonings to taste & remove from heat.
smother lentil stuffed collards in marinara & enjoy. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! we served ours over a little brown rice, but bulghur, barley, millet, or quinoa would be just as rock’n!
we had another super easy 'n super tasty meal last night (easy mealz are what we really need lately since it's been so bananapants!) - more sauteed veggies (asparagus 'n broccoli) & greens (swiss chard), but this time we tossed them in some gloriously great (and ridiculously easy) garlic butter sauce & served it all in a bowl (big surprise! ahahahahahaa!) over bulghur. you better believe we added a heaping teaspoon of crushed red pepper when sauteing the veggies 'cause Cyn has us addicted to red pepper flakes and sauteed yumminesses! our dinner was oh-so-so-so-SO gooooooood! yeah, i'll admit to licking my bowl when i was done (i couldn't help it!). aahahhahahaa!
