15 minutes ago, Wayne said:
I still have not had a look at the book yet however I went online to re-watch the collards episode.
To make a long story short her use of blanched trimmed collards as a wrap for dolmades piqued my interest and I ended up using them as a substitute wrap for lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice with a chicken, pork, mushroom and greens filling. The collards were trimmed, briefly blanched, shocked then used to wrap the parcels. Parcels then steamed 15 minutes to finish.
Results: The collards looked great however I did find them still tough. In the episode the dolmades were steamed for even less time yet seemed to be an easy bite. I wouldn't do it again however I think substituting collards for cabbage in a braised cabbage roll would work quite well. I've got a lot of collards.
I plan on trying the tomato pie as I'm still pulling lots of tomatoes from the garden. Looks great from up-thread photos.
I grow collard greens. They get tough for sure. I pressure cook mine for a good 45 mins to get tender--and that's with the main "stem" down the middle removed.
I think the collards would still work if you blanched them a little longer and/or steamed them longer? I might try using them as a cabbage roll wrap.......
edited to say....I meant to also add that the younger the collard leaves are (smaller) the more tender.