Mediterranean Collard Wraps

These Mediterranean Collard Wraps are made with Genoa salami, Paleo Tzatziki Sauce, onions, tomatoes, and sprigs of fresh dill for an out-of-this-world-delicious grain-free dinner recipe! Optional mix-ins are included in this post, too! {Gluten-free + Dairy-free}

Hold the phone and shut the front door! Because Mediterranean Collard Wraps are here, and they’re just as perfect for a party as they are for a cozy date night in. Mediterranean Collard Wraps have Friday and Saturday night written all over them. They’re here for the party and their flavors are exciting.

Why? Let’s taste the ways.

Collard greens have a pungent flavor that transforms into an earthy flavor once blanched in hot water and shocked in cold water. This makes them a good match for the garlic and wine flavors in the salami and the earthy citrus flavor in the tzatziki sauce. Combined with juicy tomatoes and sweet red onions, the overall combination cascades with flavor!

For this recipe we kept our Mediterranean Collard Wraps simple. Applegate Naturals Uncured Genoa Salami slices, Paleo Tzatziki Sauce, onions, tomatoes, and sprigs of fresh dill. Done, done, and delicious! Also really quick! But you can just as easily add:

Prosciutto Sliced ham/turkey/chicken Green onions Black or green olives Capers Avocado spreads Vinaigrettes

Also, and just workshop with me on this, how weird would it be to set out several mix-ins for people to assemble their own Mediterranean Collard Wraps? And by “people” I mean “me” because I want to try ALL THE COMBOS ALL THE TIME. Especially if it’s a day of the week ending in “day.” Thank you for understanding.

In the meantime, grab some collards, a few mix-ins, and let’s get wrap-rolling!

MEDITERRANEAN COLLARD WRAP INGREDIENTS:

Below are the ingredients we used to craft our Mediterranean Collard Wraps.

• Collard greens. They have somewhat of a short shelf life. So I buy the largest leaves I can find at the store and make a point to prepare these gluten-free wraps within 24 hours of purchase.
• Salami. We love Applegate Naturals Uncured Genoa Salami. They are mini salamis, so we use more of them per wrap. If using larger slices of meat, then adjust quantities as will fit the wrap. It’s important to remember NOT to overfill the collard green. Otherwise, they’re prone to breakage. Paleo Tzatziki Sauce. This is SUCH a good pairing for the salami. If you can swing a batch, then DO IT! And if not, choose another option from the list below!
• Red onion. For best results, slice them long and thin OR dice them into tiny pieces. Either option is easy to roll, they’ll stick to the sauce better, and they’ll be less likely to fall out of the wrap.
• Tomatoes. Thin slices of a small tomato OR thin slices of grape tomatoes will work. Like the onion, they’re more likely to stick to the sauce and stay in place if they’re cut thin and/or small.
• Fresh herbs. We used fresh dill because it’s the same herb used in Paleo Tzatziki Sauce. But you can easily switch this out with whatever herbs are used in the sauce you use.
• Coarse black pepper. A sprinkle or two, if desired. 

HOW TO MAKE MEDITERRANEAN COLLARD WRAPS:

Below are the instructions for how to assemble a Mediterranean Collard Wrap. Scroll to the bottom of this blog post for additional best practices.

1. Prepare the collard greens by rinsing the leaves and laying them in a stack near a cutting board. Trim the thick center stem out of each leaf, removing it about one third to halfway up the leaf.
2. Place the collard greens in a pan of boiling water and blanch them for two minutes. Then transfer the leaves to an ice water bath to shock them. This stops the cooking process and prevents them from becoming wilted. Let them sit there for a minute or so and then transfer the leaves to a paper towel-lined plate or tray. Make sure to pat away as much excess water as possible from the leaves before assembling the wraps.
3. For each collard wrap, lay the leaf so the inside of the wrap (the “wrong” side) is facing up. Then layer approximately 4 mini salami slices in the widest part of the leaf and spread about 1-2 teaspoons Paleo Tzatziki Sauce (or other spread/sauce/vinaigrette of choice) on the top of the salamis.
4. Next, layer with onion slices, tomatoes, herbs, and black pepper. Finally, take the rounded edge of the collard green and fold it over the layered mixture. As you begin rolling it, start bringing the sides together, similar to making a taco or wrapping a present. There will be a gap in the leaf where the spine was. As you roll the wrap, pull the two sides closer together to close the gap.
5. For best results, keep refrigerated and consume within 24 hours. 

ADDITIONAL SAUCES, SPREADS, AND VINAIGRETTES:

We purposely kept our Mediterranean Collard Wraps simple since we wanted the Paleo Tzatziki Sauce to stand out. Having said that, there are several ways to create a delicious Mediterranean Wrap. And it includes not only proteins but also the sauce, spread, or vinaigrette used. Below are a few additional recipes for inspiration!

• Black Olive Tapenade
• Paleo Caesar Vinaigrette
• Homemade Italian Salad Dressing
• Dairy-Free Aioli Sauce
• Homemade Basil Pesto

NOTE: We used fresh dill sprigs in our collard wraps because we made them with Paleo Tzatziki Sauce. So if you use a different sauce, spread, or vinaigrette, then switch out the fresh herbs to match those used in the recipe you choose.

ALSO NOTE: Vinaigrettes are delicious in collard wraps. However, they are prone to leaking. To soak up the vinaigrette, tightly wrap the collards, add more slices of meat, or add an additional sauce/spread (even mashed avocado will do).

BEST PRACTICES TO GET THE PERFECT ROLL

Learning how to roll a leaf for a lunch wrap is a skill. And it took me a LOOOONG time to learn just how to do it. I perfected the wrap roll with our Chicken Avocado Collard Wraps. And for that recipe, I did quite a bit of digging to “up” my wrap-roll game. Below are the sources I found helpful!

• Remove the spine (thick center stem). Kendra Peterson of Drizzle Kitchen has an excellent IG TV video that shows how to make a collard wrap. Specifically, she shares how to remove the center spine, which makes rolling the collard green, without breaking it, much easier to do. Thank you, Kendra!
• Blanch and shock the leaves. Thanks to my mother-in-law, I knew what it meant to blanch vegetables. But the process of giving them an ice water bath has its own name, too. Thanks to Lindsay Cotter of Cotter Crunch in her recipe for Swiss Chard Salad Wraps, I now know what it is. It’s called shocking. So, to get the best collards, we’re going to blanch and shock our greens so they taste great and are easy to work with!

If you are in the mood for more Mediterranean flavors, then you’ll like these recipes!

• Mediterranean Shrimp Sauté
• Mediterranean Chicken Sauté
• Mediterranean Zucchini Noodle Pasta

Enjoy, friends! Stay safe, be well, and take care of yourselves! I’m glad you’re here.  ❤️

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