Sea Island Red Pea-Stuffed Collards from Basic Kitchen

For the red pea stuffing: 

Heat the olive oil until shimmering in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and red peppers and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and starting to color a little, three to four minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the harissa paste and tomato paste. Cook for about one minute. (At this point you should start smelling the harissa paste really coming to life.) Add the drained red peas and stir to coat. Add the water and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring frequently, for about 30 minutes, until the peas are tender. If the peas seem a little dry before they are tender add more water, around a cup at a time. Once tender, remove from the heat and add the salt. Allow to cool before stuffing the collards. (We normally do this step the day before serving as the peas are a lot easier to work with when completely chilled.)

For the harissa tomato sauce: 

Heat the olive oil until shimmering in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and red peppers and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and starting to color a little, three to four minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the harissa and tomato pastes. Cook for about one minute. Add the tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the onions and pepper aren’t sticking. Add the salt and remove from the heat.

While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Make an ice bath in a bowl with equal parts ice and cold water. Drop the collards in the boiling water for around 30 seconds, until bright green and slightly tender. Place them straight into the ice bath. Once cold, take them out, dry them on paper towels, and lay them on a baking sheet or board.  

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spoon harissa tomato sauce into an oven-safe 13-by-9-inch baking pan. 

Place 1/4 cup of the harisssa red peas at the bottom center of each collard leaf where the stem meets the leaf (this measurement varies depending on the size of each leaf). Carefully fold the two outside edges in and roll the leaf up. (It’s similar to rolling a mini burrito.) Place the rolls on the sauce in the casserole dish, cover with foil, and bake for 25 minutes. The collards should be tender and the filling piping hot. 

To serve: divide the remaining sauce in bowls and place two to three rolls on top.