I’ve been trying to get my family to eat more vegetables and especially more vegan meals, and it’s been sort of a challenge. For one thing, my parents are on a low carb, low protein, low sugar diet and they can’t have pasta, bread, rice or anything else containing white refined starches. I am fully vegan and currently trying to avoid gluten as much as possible. To make something that I can eat and my family can eat has certainly been difficult but I’m getting the hang of it. I did use a bit of flour for this recipe, which makes it not gluten free, and not exactly low carb, but I feel ok about it since it was a small amount and the resulting recipe was truly delicious. I suppose I could have easily swapped cornstarch for flour, but I didn’t have any in my pantry so I had to use what was available.
I’ve eaten collard greens many times before, but I’ve never had them in a luscious cream sauce with smoky maple bacon. Collard greens are one of those foods that I forget about, but I need to remember to buy them more often because they are so tasty and healthy. For one thing, they are a great source of protein in a vegan diet and they are also vitamin and mineral dense. They have been shown to lower cholesterol, which is great for my dad who has struggled with high levels, and they also contain high levels of antioxidants and other essential nutrients.
The best thing about them though is the taste and texture. Unlike spinach, which can be a little slimy when overcooked, not that I mind, collard greens are a bit more dense and hold their texture a lot better when cooked. I cooked up some delicious cornmeal crusted tofu to go on the side and it was the perfect comfort food meal. If you try this recipe, let us know in the comments below how it turns out.
Deliciously luscious creamed collard greens with smoky maple tempeh bacon and cornmeal crusted marinated tofu on the side.
Ingredients
- 1 block tofu, 1/2" thick slices and pressed
- 2 flax eggs
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp bbq sauce or liquid smoke
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 large bunches collard greens, stems removed, cut into 1/2 inch strips
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 8 slices tempeh bacon, roughly chopped
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 3 tbsp flour
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1-2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- pinch of nutmeg
- 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 2 cups cashew cream*
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°.
- Prepare the tofu by mixing together the soy sauce, garlic, olive oil, bbq sauce and lemon juice in a shallow dish.
- Place the tofu slices into the sauce and marinate for 20 minutes.
- In a separate shallow dish, combine the cornmeal, paprika, salt pepper and rosemary.
- In two other shallow dishes, place the flour and the flax eggs.
- Dredge the tofu slices in the flour, then into the flax eggs, then into the cornmeal.
- Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20 minutes on each side.
- While the tofu is baking, blanch the collard greens in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 3 minutes until bright green.
- Drain and place into an ice bath.
- In the same large pot, add half of the olive oil and sauté over low-medium heat for about 5 minutes until browned. Remove from pot and set aside.
- Add the rest of the oil and the shallots and cook for about 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften.
- Add the garlic and mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.
- Stir in the flour, paprika, sea salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and nutmeg and cook for a minute or two, stirring continuously.
- Stir in the almond milk and cashew cream and bring to a boil.
- Add in the drained collard greens and stir until combined.
- Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the sauce is nicely thickened and the collard greens are tender.
- Before serving, toss in half of the reserved tempeh bacon and transfer to a serving dish.
- Top with the remaining tempeh bacon and serve immediately with the cornmeal crusted tofu on the side.
Notes
*To make the cashew cream, I simply soaked 1 cup of cashews in boiling water for about an hour, changing the boiling water every 15 minutes or so. Then I blended them with 1 cup of water until smooth. That's it!