Thursday, August 9, 2012

Raw Collard Wraps




I'm back to putting more recipes on the blog since friends on my Facebook page are drooling over my food photos and asking for recipes :) And ahem, I haven't posted in a couple of weeks ;-/

This one takes some time to prep and assemble but it's so worth it!  And you will have enough leftover hummus and nut cheese to keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days so when you want a quick lunch, you just have to assemble-which is the quick part!

The Zuchini Hummus and Nut Cheese in this recipe are from Raw Food Chef, Amber Crawley's book Practically Raw.  I love love love this book!  It is a MUST buy for anyone new to raw food that doesn't have a dehydrator and doesn't care to go 100% raw.

Ingredients
One bundle of Organic Collards
6 carrots peeled and chopped
1-2 cucumbers
1 large or 1 1/2 medium zuchini peeled and chopped (2 1/2 to 3 cups)
1/2 cup tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin (soaked for 2-4 hours and drained)
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup filtered water
1/2 tsp probiotic (optional)
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt

First wash and dry the collards. Look closely at the leafs because sometimes bugs form their homes on them :) Now cut the stem off of the end, but don't cut into the leaf to remove all of it. Instead of cutting into the leaf to remove the thick part of the stem you will thin the stem out with a knife by folding the collard in half gently so as not to tear the collard and then take your knife and thin away!

Next, put your carrots in the food processor using the "shred" blade. Wash the cucumbers and depending on how many wraps you are making you will want to chop 1 cucumber for every 3 wraps. You can either slice it thin with a mandoline or give them a medium dice.  Set these aside and start making the nut cheese and hummus!

To make the hummus you will put the zuchini, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, agave, sea salt and cumin into the food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a glass storage container and refrigerate.

Rinse out your food processor cause we're going to use it again for the Nut Cheese!  And in the process we are going to make Cashew Milk!  Bonus!  Throw your cashews and water into the food processor. and blend until smooth. Strain off the pulp with a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag. Squeeze the bag or push down on the pulp in the strainer with a big spoon until you have most of the water out.  Pour the "milk" into a glass jar and put in the refrigerator.

Now in a bowl you can mix the probiotic powder, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt with the leftover cashew pulp.  Place in refrigerator while you are assembling....

Lay a collard leaf out on a plate.  Spread your hummus down the center of the leaf over the stem.  Now put a handful of shredded carrot and handful of chopped cucumber on the top part of the leaf where you will start rolling.  Put some cashew cheese on top.  Fold the left and right sides in toward the center and start rolling the collard toward you. Cut in half , right across the stem, and enjoy!  Or make more!