Braised Collard Green Dolma with Butternut Squash Coulis & Pepper Sofrito
For our anniversary in October, we escaped to the most amazing treehouse Airbnb too far away in Linden, Virginia. It was a cozy little place, and fairly rustic – there’s no electricity or running water. Being the foodie I am, even in the middle of the woods I still wanted to enjoy a gourmet meal – but I knew we might be a bit limited by the small kitchen with only a gas burner.
When I stumbled upon FEAST, a locally-sourced prepared meal delivery service by the team at Nina May, I figured it was just the thing. They deliver a box with all the mostly-prepared components you need for a fancy dinner for two, along with heating and plating instructions. We love it, and have actually ordered their themed boxes (Halloween and Hanukkah) twice since then and would definitely recommend!
They also offer delicious cocktails, and since it was our anniversary I ordered us a couple of those as an extra treat. The cocktails definitely weren’t weak, and by the time we’d enjoyed them on the balcony overlooking the trees (at peak fall foliage, might I add!) we were pretty tipsy and it was completely dark. It being our first night in the treehouse, we’d not yet learned to set up all the lanterns in advance, so we prepared our meal with very little light.
Despite a couple snafus (I definitely found a component or two we’d forgotten in the morning!) the meal was absolutely outstanding and I couldn’t stop dreaming about the collard green dolma with candied lemons, sofrito peppers and butternut squash puree. About a month later, I reached out on a whim to beg Nina May for the recipe and was thrilled when the chef obliged!
I ad-libbed the butternut squash since I didn’t have the recipe for that (I went with tahini, lemon juice and some spices with a bit of the leftover broth) and decided to skip the candied lemon peels because I was feeling lazy. While mine didn’t quite hold up (or rather together) quite to the Nina May’s standard, they were delicious and excitedly ate them for leftovers all week!
Braised Collard Green Dolma
with Butternut Squash Coulis & Pepper Sofrito
From Nina May Chef Colin McClimans
For the Dolma:
- 2 bunches Collard Greens
- 2 cups Popcorn Carolina Rice (any rice will work)
- 1 bunch Parsley
- 1 bunch Cilantro
- 5 Lemons
- 2 Cloves
- 4 quarts Vegetable Stock*
- 1 Yellow Onion
- Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup White Wine
- Salt, to taste
*Nina May uses a homemade one that is very heavy with mushrooms to increase the flavor of the rice. I used a store bought mushroom stock.
How-to (I’ve edited for clarity):
Add a splash of olive oil to a Dutch oven or deep skillet and sautee the onion and garlic a few minutes, until soft and fragrant. Add the rice and toast for about 2 mins. Deglaze with white wine and let cook off till it is dry. Add 1 quart of vegetable stock and cook till tender (it can be slightly under cooked as we are going to cook again. Fold in the chopped herbs.
Bring another pot of water to a boil and season heavily with salt. Clean the collard greens carefully as we want to keep the leaf fully intact. Using a knife cut out and stem that is too thick. Blanch the leaves for 2 mins and the shock in ice water. Remove from the water and pat dry.
Get out a high walled saute pan or Dutch oven. Slice the lemons and lay them across the bottom of the pan to cover. We are now going to start wrapping the dolma. Place the rice mixture in the center of the collard and fold in the sides, before carefully wrapping up like a little burrito.
Then add the dolma. You want to try and pack them so there is no excess room so they don’t move around and unfold. Cover with the rest of the veg stock so they are just fully submerged. Top with any lemons you may have left over. Simmer for 30 mins then place the whole pan in the fridge to cool. Once fully cooled, remove from the pan. They can be eaten cold or reheated in the oven.
For Pepper Sofrito
- 1 part White Onions
- 1 part Sweet peppers
- ¼ part Spicy peppers
- ¼ part Garlic
- ¼ part Evo
- Salt to taste
Sautee together until soft and carmelized.
For the Preserved Lemons: Slice lemons very thin on a slicer and cover with a 50/50 sugar salt mixture overnight. You can add a little chili flake as well if you’d like. Rinse and when the rind is tender, they are ready to enjoy.
For the Butternut Squash Puree:
(I made this up as I went)
- 1 Medium butternut squash
- 1/4 cup tahini
- Cumin, cinnamon and salt to taste
- Extra broth from the dolma
Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Roast at 425 until tender. Transfer to a food processor. Add the tahini, some of the lemony broth you’ve cooked the dolma in (you will have a lot of extra!) and the salt and spices. Blend until smooth.
Plating Instructions: Spoon butternut squash puree onto each plate. Top with the dolma. Sprinkle with pepper soffrito and preserved lemons!
