COLLARD LEAVES AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PITAS
I enjoy wraps filled with hummus, vegetables, and vegan tzatziki sauce. Usually I use raw vegetables but my husband came home with a huge bag of asparagus so roasting seemed the way to go. I was out of my favorite whole wheat pitas so decided to use collard leaves instead. They worked great though I overstuffed mine so it was quite messy to eat. My husband preferred his like a salad so I placed chopped blanched collards in a bowl, added a scoop of hummus, topped with roasted vegetables then drizzled with tzatziki. He loved it!
Here is the vegan tzatziki recipe I used from “Loving It Vegan” blog.
Here is a video showing how to blanch collards. I trimmed the stem then submerged in hot water for 15-30 seconds. If you prefer, you can steam the collard leaves. Collards are very high in nutrient density and low in calorie density…see picture section at bottom of page for charts.
What I did differently for the tzatziki sauce:
-Did not add oil
-Used 1/2 of an unpeeled English cucumber
-Did not have fresh mint so left it out
-Added the dill when I added the cucumber
Here is the healthy hummus recipe I used, modified from Engine 2:
-2 cans chickpeas, drained (keep aside some of the liquid)
-3 cloves of raw garlic or 6-8 cloves of roasted garlic
-2-3 TBSP fresh lemon juice
-2 tsp low sodium tamari or low sodium soy sauce
-1/4 cup vegetable broth
-2 tsp cumin powder
Added all the ingredients into a high speed blender (or could use food processor) and processed until smooth. If too thick I add a bit of aquafaba (the liquid from the drained chickpeas).
