Collard Green Wraps with Vegan Garden Pesto
By Lachelle Cunningham
Ingredients
For the Pesto
- 2 cups tightly packed fresh herbs (basil, green onion, parsley, cilantro or a combination)
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- 2 cloves garlic or 3 garlic scapes
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
For the Wraps (see note above)
- Large collard green leaves
- Bell peppers, shaved or thinly sliced julienne
- Cucumbers, cut or shaved thinly lengthwise
- Carrots, cut thinly lengthwise or grated
- Radishes, cut thinly lengthwise or grated
- Vegetable sprouts or microgreens
- Sauerkraut or other pickled vegetables from Kiss My Cabbage
- Avocado, thinly sliced lengthwise
- Asian Dipping Sauce: ½ cup rice wine vinegar, ½ cup soy sauce, 1-2 Tablespoons sesame oil, ¼ tsp cayenne (whisked together)
Instructions
To make the pesto, place the herbs, sunflower seeds and garlic in a blender or food processor fitted with the S-blade. Pulse to combine, until the mixture is coarsely ground. Turn the motor on and drizzle the olive oil in a thin stream. Add the sea salt, pepper, lemon and nutritional yeast, and pulse a few more times to combine. Taste and add more seasonings as needed.
To assemble the wraps, Cut each collard leaf into 2 pieces by cutting off the stem lengthwise, making 2 collard wraps. Spread a spoonful of the pesto inside each collard wrap. Add a small amount of vegetables in a cluster in the center of the wrap. Add 1 teaspoon of Asian Dipping Sauce and roll up the collard wrap.
