Wondering how these stuffed collard greens in the slow cooker came about? It’s pretty simple. I bought the collard greens for my tortoises. They obviously can’t eat all of them. Combine that with the organic ground pork I needed to use in the fridge, and there you have it – stuffed collard greens in the slow cooker.
My Dad’s side of the family is Eastern European, so stuffed cabbage rolls were always a staple at every holiday meal. I never really liked them when I was little, but now I am trying different recipes, nutrition and cooking styles with my food allergies and having to diversity my food.
Despite making cabbage rolls always being a little intimating to me, these were pretty easy, and using the slow cooker was awesome. Of course, I made the stuffing the night before and let everything soak in, but making it all at once is fine, too.
Delectable Stuffed Collard Greens in the Slow Cooker
Ingredients
½ pound ground pork (minced pork) - organic- 1 medium yellow onion - chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup brown rice - cooked
- 14 ounces tomato - diced
- 2 cups ketchup (tomato sauce Australia and UK) - divided
- ½ cup water
- 1 bunch collard greens - rinsed and stems removed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- In a medium pan, heat the oil. Add in the ground pork and callow to cook until almost brown, breaking up and large pieces.
- Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft and the meat is not raw.
- In a large bowl, combine the pork, onion and garlic with the rice and tomatoes. Mix well. Add additional salt and pepper if needed.
- If you can, cover and let it sit overnight. If not, you can use it right away.
- Evenly spread around one cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Place a collard green leaf on a cutting board. Toward the top end, carefully drop 2 to 3 teaspoons of the pork mixture in the centre. Begin to roll the leaf toward the bottom and then fold in the sides. Put finished rolls in the slow cooker.
- Repeat until the mixture, or leaves, are finished. If you have extra pork mixture left, you can put it around the rolls in the slow cooker or freeze it for a quick weeknight dinner. I do the latter.
- Cover the rolls with the remaining one cup of tomato sauce and about a 1/2 cup of water.
- Put the slow cooker on low and cook for about 5 hours, or until the leaves are very soft.
