Soul Food! Vegan Stuffed Collard Greens with Dried Cherries

Vegan Stuffed Collard Greens

Vegan Stuffed Collards with Sriracha and Dried Cherries

Last night my wife, Shelley,  and I attended a Plant Based Nutrition Support Group Meeting (www.pbnsg.org) featuring Dr. Esselstyn and his family.  In addition to all the great science, we were challenged to try a variety of green leafy vegetables.  

Shelley surprised me after work with a whole counter loaded with colorful veggies!

I immediately washed my hands, picked out baby spinach, kale, parsley, carrots, celery, leeks, a sweet red pepper, garlic, half a habanero pepper, white pepper, paprika, fresh tomatoes, snap peas, soy and teriyaki sauce and a potato all chopped and boiled in a large pot with 12 cups of water.  I let it simmer for an hour  until half the water was reduced.  The cooked veggies where strained thoroughly and the liquid was kept as soup stock for another day.
I cooked 1 cup of brown rice in 2 cups of water with  a tsp of cumin letting it simmer covered 45 minutes and left it covered for an additional 20 minutes.
I wilted some large collard leaves in boiling water and layed them flat.
I mashed the cooked veggies and rice together until it clumped like a hamburger patty then wrapped some up in the wilted collard green.  I wrapped the rolled leaves in wet paper towel and microwaved them for 3 minutes.   I let them cool and topped them with sriracha sauce and dried cherries.  The sweetness of the cherries delightfully compliments the heat of the peppers.
It was a lot of work but so worth it.
Hopefully, you'll try it and let me know how it came out!