August 16, 2013 • Nancy Wolfson-Moche

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The juicy, tangy mangoes grown here in southern Florida liven up these nourishing veggie rolls. I don’t often use mangoes in my dishes but when in Rome…

serves 4-6

INgredients

3 large collard green leaves

1 half mango

2 scallions

8 oz tofu (about ½ an average-size brick)

½ head iceberg lettuce

2 umeboshi plums or 2 Tablespoons umeboshi plum paste

¼ cup umeboshi plum vinegar

pinch of sea salt

soy sauce for dipping

Process  

Wash the tofu and slice it into ½-inch thick logs. Place them in a bowl. Combine ¼ cup ume plum vinegar with ¾ cup spring or filtered water and pour the mixture over the tofu. Let tofu pickle for 1-3 hours. You could do this the night before and refrigerate the pickled tofu.

Wash the collards, scallions and lettuce well. Trim the collard leaves, removing the ends.

Blanch the collards: place a large pot of water with a pinch of sea salt on a medium-high flame. When the water boils, add the collard green leaves. When they float on top of the water and turn a darker, more vivid shade of green, they are done. Remove them with a mesh skimmer or a slotted spoon. Let them cool on a plate.

Trim the ends of the scallions and slice them lengthwise, into long thin strips. Set them aside.

Remove the skin from the mango and cut it into long strips similar in size and shape to the tofu logs. Set them aside.

Cut the head of iceberg lettuce in half. Slice one of the halves into thin wedges and set aside.

Assemble the roll-ups

Place the collard leaf on a sushi mat, with the matte (underneath) side of the leaf facing up. The spine of the collard should be perpendicular to the lines of string on the sushi mat.  Place the pickled tofu in the center of the leaf, lining it up with the leaf’s spine.

Add the mango slices, placing them next to the tofu.

Lay the scallion strips on top of the tofu;

place the lettuce on top.

Shave some pieces of the ume plums and spread them out along the top of the fillings. Note: you can also spread ume plum paste along the top.

Dip your forefinger into a small dish of water and spread the water along the outer edge of the collard leaf. This acts as “glue” to hold the roll together. Use the sushi mat to help you fold half of the leaf over the other half, pressing the edges together.

Pull the leaf back to the edge of the sushi mat and roll it up into a firm cylinder, squeezing the mat to set the roll.

Remove the mat and slice the roll into small 1-2” sections.

Turn them so the inside of the roll is face up. Arrange on a plate and serve with soy sauce for dipping.

©Nancy Wolfson-Moche 2013