Recipe: Tassajara-inspired Leafy Green Wraps

 

This recipe is inspired by the instruction for stuffed vegetable wraps found in Tassajara Cooking (published in 1973), a gift from my sweet mom. This book is fabulous; not so much set recipes, but suggestions as to how to cook various vegetables and their seasonality. It also holds the wonderful poem you'll find at the bottom of this post. This variation of wrap is perfect for summer & delicious! I made this for lunch and served it with cucumber and avocado but without the sides makes a great dinner option too: light and tasty. Enjoy!

Serves 2-3 as a main. 

1 bunch of thick large leaved greens: collards or chard work well. 

--> Cut the thick ridge of each leaf spine out. 

1 zucchini, diced 

kernals of 1 ear of sweet corn

¼ c chopped cherry tomatoes 

2 T Diced paneer cheese 

2 T Chopped onions 

2 T Olive oil 

¼ t Fennel seeds 

¼ t Cumin seeds 

¼ t Coriander 

¼ t Curry or Turmeric 

chopped cilantro, salt and pepper to taste 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to boil.
While water comes to boil: Over medium heat in a medium pan, saute paneer cheese, onions and spices in olive oil until paneer starts to brown. Add zucchini and corn. Once zucchini is tender remove pan from heat. Mix in tomatoes, and add chopped cilantro and salt & pepper to taste.  Set aside.
Return to large pot of water. Blanch (preferably large) green leaves. Lay leaves out on a large clean surface. If the greens are especially thin, place a small leaf inside the larger leaf to make more sturdy for filling. Fill greens with corn-zucchini filling along the spine of the green. Fold in sides and roll if possible.
Carefully place rolls in a lightly oiled pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
Remove & serve!

• Vata: Good. Can top with ghee and adding cooked rice to filling would provide extra grounding.
• Pitta: Great! Use salt sparingly.
• Kapha: Good. Use bell pepper instead of zucchini. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to spices at the start. Do not serve with cucumber and avocado. Can serve with cooked beets with honey-balsamic vinegar dressing.

From inside my Tassajara cookbook from the '70s