Recipe and Photos by Megan Winfrey

Nobody asked anyone to combine spaghetti and collard greens with the concept of enchiladas, but I did it anyway. When you assemble ingredients that already go together in a new way, how could you fail?! This was so fun to make, incredibly tasty, and felt much lighter than eating a bowl full of spaghetti. I will definitely be making this dish all summer long!

Baked Spaghetti Collard Green Wraps

• 1 bunch of collard greens - bigger leaves are best
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tbs. dried oregano
• 1 tbs. dried thyme
• 1 24oz. can whole tomatoes, divided in half
• a handful of fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
• a handful of fresh oregano leaves, chopped
• 3-4 servings spaghetti noodles
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper, to taste

This recipe requires some multitasking, but nothing too crazy!

Remove the thick stems from the collard greens. I cut the stems out from the middle of each leaf, down, leaving the top half of the leaf whole. Stack the prepped leaves on top of each other and set aside. Separate the whole canned tomatoes into 2 bowls, then squeeze the tomatoes with your hands until they reached a crushed consistency. Mix the fresh herbs into one of the bowls of tomatoes and set both aside.

Next, fill a pasta pot with water and set it on high heat to boil. Then, add the olive oil to a heavy bottom skillet and heat over medium-high. Cook the onions and bell peppers until soft but not yet translucent. Add the turkey and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes or until the turkey is cooked through. Stir in dried herbs with the crushed tomatoes without fresh herbs, lower to a simmer, and let thicken while the rest of the dish comes together and season to taste.

Once the water in the pasta pot is boiling, take the stack of collard greens and lower them into the pot, pushing them down with a spoon to submerge. Let boil for about 5 minutes, submerging the leaves when necessary, until they are tender but still a vibrant green. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool. Keep the water boiling and add the spaghetti noodles to the same pot. Cook to al dente then drain into a colander.

So, the meat sauce is thickening, the collard greens and spaghetti are cooling. Now, add the remaining bowl of crushed tomatoes and fresh herbs to a small saucepan and heat over low. Preheat the oven to 375.

Time to assemble. Clear off your cutting board and lay down a collard leaf. Layer one half of the cut part over the other, effectively closing the gap where the stem was. Lay a small nest of spaghetti noodles down in the middle of the leaf, then top with a spoonful of meat sauce and a sprinkle of shredded cheese. These should all sit right in the center of the leaf with room on all sides. Fold like a burrito, bringing the bottom of the leaf up over the filling, tucking in the sides, then rolling once over to form a log. Continue this process with the rest of the collard greens, laying the wraps side by side in a baking dish as you go.

Once all of the greens have been stuffed and wrapped, cover each one with the warm, herby tomato sauce. Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheese evenly over everything, then finish off with a dusting of nutritional yeast.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melty and starting to brown a bit. Serve immediately and enjoy!