Collard green sausage rolls

Collard greens...aren't they hard to cook?  Don't they taste funny?  Oh, just give these a try.  The original recipe is for a super-spicy ground pork mixture wrapped in collards.  Using ground sausage is so much easier and a lot more palate-friendly too (if you try the original, I'd only use 1/2-1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes unless you are a serious chile-head or a masochist).  Either way, this freezes ahead very nicely.


Collard-wrapped sausage rolls
4 servings
1 large bunch collard greens, stems trimmed off at the base of the leaves
1 lb. ground sausage
1 - 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.  Cook the collards for 3-4 minutes, until pliable.  Drain and set aside, keeping the leaves as flat as possible. 

Divide ground sausage into 4 parts and shape into oblong patties.  Wrap each patty in 3-4 collard leaves, alternating the direction from which you roll each layer. 

If freezing ahead, make the wrapped patties and freeze in a vacu-seal bag.  Either label a can/box of stock in the pantry, or portion out 1 1/2 cups of frozen stock cubes to include in the meal kit (1 regular ice cube tray holds about 2 cups of liquid).  You can also put the wrapped patties in a baking dish in the refrigerator for same-day or next-day cooking.

When ready to cook, place patties seam side down in a 8x8 baking dish.  Add enough stock to reach 1/4 of the way up the sides of the rolls.  Cover with heavy duty foil and bake until pork is cooked through, about 35 minutes at 400F. Pin It