Let’s take a classic Cajun favorite and turn it vegetarian– let’s clean up dirty rice! Long grain brown rice, fresh antioxidant-full greens, and nutritious pumpkin seeds, some of the healthiest foods you can choose, are the cornerstones of this meatless rendition. Dirty rice with collards and leeks is not only delicious–it’s wholesome!
In Louisiana, they cook dirty rice with parts of the chicken that are normally thrown away—the “dirty” color comes from liver and gizzards. Tradition also calls for the holy trinity of onions, celery and peppers. This vegetarian version is made with a whole lot of collards and a duo of leeks and cayenne pepper.
Southerners, don’t chastise me too much for dirtying the recipe the wrong way. Please lend redemption for the collards ribbons in every single bite, and for added crunch from toasted pumpkin seeds. In return, I’ll forgive you for the time you made dirty rice from a boxed mix. 😉
I love this dirty rice for its peppery spice, for the subtly fragrant nibbles of leeks, and for the generous amount of collards, their taste like a cross between kale and cabbage. This dish is flavorful and easy to put together, and all in one spoonful, it’s both dirty and clean.
The clean part is clean eating, a relatively new buzzword for being mindful about what we eat. Clean eating means eating “real” foods as close to their natural form as possible. It’s about seeking out whole, unprocessed or minimally processed foods.
Clean eating is a goal I reach for. I’m certainly not perfect or completely anal about it, and I’m not being judgmental about the way anyone eats. Clean cooking and eating are the recipes I share with you on this blog. Like this one for clean and dirty rice, with collards and leeks.
- To learn more about the concepts of clean eating, read Michael Pollan’s book, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. I call it the skinny bible for eating wisely.
Wishing you a fabulous day–get in the kitchen and cook something delicious!
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We sometimes eat this dish as a simple supper with a salad. Dirty rice is a perfect side dish, and can be used as a base for New Year’s Day hoppin’ John. Are you looking for an untraditional stuffing for your Thanksgiving turkey? Vegetarian dirty rice is the answer! Makes 6 to 8 servings.
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup long grain brown rice see note
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 bunch collards stems removed and discarded
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 leek about 1 ½ cups, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise into half-moons
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast see note, optional
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
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In a saucepan, bring the 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil. Add the rice and bay leaf, cover and return to a boil. Reduce heat to very low and cook, covered, 30 to 40 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed. (To see if the liquid has been absorbed without stirring, tilt the pan to the side.) Let sit 5 to 10 minutes to cool. Fluff with a fork.
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While the rice is cooking, prepare the collards: Stack the collard leaves on top of each other, with the leaf tips all at the same end. Roll the stack tightly in a long tube
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Starting at the thick end, slice the collards as thinly as possible to make spaghetti like strands.
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In a large skillet with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the leeks and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic.
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Add a cup of water to the leeks and garlic. Stir in the collard strands and a pinch of salt. Cover the skillet. Cook over medium-heat about 15 minutes, until the collards are just tender. Transfer to a colander and drain well.
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Dump the drained collards on a cutting board. Chop into pieces less than an inch long.
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Stir the collards, pumpkin seeds, soy sauce, cayenne, nutritional yeast and salt into the rice. Grind in a generous amount of black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- I used organic basmati rice.
- Nutritional yeast is inactive yeast, a Vitamin B-12 superfood that adds savory flavor to the rice.
This looks so good! In Santa Barbara there is an eat local challenge for the month of October. Not sure how local I can get rice but I’d sure like to try this dish. Thanks Letty. · 26 September, 2014
Nice chiffonades. I hope that didn’t sound disrespectful. GREG · 29 September, 2014
I just clicked LIKE. · 30 September, 2014
Hey, this might even get my husband to eat greens! · 23 October, 2014
Thanks Sean. You could put some chicken livers in yours… or sausage….always a good sell. · 23 October, 2014
[…] Dirty Rice with Collards and Leeks by Letty’s Kitchen […] · 16 January, 2016
I made this the other night. Loved it! · 24 March, 2016
Thanks Val! · 24 March, 2016
I have been growing collards and I have a ton of them. I’ve been searching for a recipe that didn’t call for bacon or fat, collards taste so good without it (Although, I do love bacon). Anyhow, this was wonderful, my hubs loved it too! I didn’t have the seeds or that type of soy sauce, used regular soy sauce. Tasted great! Thanks! · 4 April, 2016
Hi Courtney! It’s always good when the hubs like what we cook–glad this was a hit! Thank you. · 4 April, 2016
I’m trying this tonight! · 10 July, 2016
Thanks Skyler–let me know how you like it! · 11 July, 2016
Very good. I’ve been vegan for only 4 months, but this will definitely stay in rotation. I added portabella mushroom and some fresh jalepeno for a little kick… REALLY GOOD! · 11 July, 2016
I am single and have a TON of collards from my CSA share. I’m wondering if this would be ok to freeze some? Any thought?? Thanks! · 24 July, 2016
Hi Katie,
What a delight to have a a surplus of collards! You can freeze greens like collards, kale, chard–but you want to cook them first. Here is an article from another blogger explaining why! http://www.freshbitesdaily.com/freezing-greens/ · 25 July, 2016
Very yummy! Threw in a can of black eyed peas and it’s dinner tonight and lunch for the next few days. Thanks for sharing! · 7 August, 2016
Thanks Barbara. Black eyed peas a great idea for added protein in keeping with the Southern dirty rice theme! · 9 August, 2016
I don’t normally comment on recipes but I wanted to tell you how much of a hit this was in my house! So delicious! My husband even told me to put this recipe in his favorites collection! · 14 January, 2017
Thanks Kathy! Your comment leaves a glow in my heart! · 14 January, 2017
So delicious and simple to put together! I made my rice ahead in a rice cooker (saves time as I have twin newborns) and then boiled the rest in the broth. Worked great! Thanks! · 13 September, 2017
This was so delicious! I am so glad I added the nutritional yeast. It really added that savory flavor you talked about. · 26 September, 2017
Thank you Gisela! Nutritional yeast brings its flavor-enhancing umami to this dish, for sure. · 26 September, 2017
[…] Dirty Rice with Collards and Leeks […] · 9 January, 2018
I’ll be making this tonigh. Looks great! Is there a reason you don’t cook all at the same time? Greens and other ingredients all added to the rice as it cooks? · 14 January, 2018
Hi Renee, I keep them separate so there is a flavor and color difference. The lighter rice vs the green leeks and collards. If you cook them together the veggies kind of become part of the rice. · 14 January, 2018
I’ve never tried collard greens before. I made this tonight and I love It! · 21 January, 2018
Thank you Holly! I’m happy to hear you love the recipe! · 22 January, 2018
[…] Dirty Rice with Collards and Leeks by Letty’s Kitchen […] · 7 March, 2018
Great dish
I loved it,filled with flavor and the toasted pumpkin nuts makes this dish a keeper.KBM · 13 March, 2018
Thank you. I so appreciate your comment! · 13 March, 2018
I’ve made this no less than 4 times and I just have to say it’s sooo good! Thank you for the recipe! · 19 March, 2018
Thank you Haley! I am so happy to know you love this dish! · 19 March, 2018
Just made this with CSA collards and leek scapes- DELICIOUS! Thanks so much! · 7 June, 2018
Thank you! Wow, leek scapes–I have never had or seen them. Will check them out! · 8 June, 2018
I have a bunch of collards in my garden right now ready to eat. This recipe was just what I was looking for. I added black eyed peas and some Beyond meat sausage and the whole family ate it all up.
Thank you · 27 October, 2018
Thank you! Love the idea of adding protein making it a delicious vegan main! · 28 October, 2018
Hello! I would like to make this soon but was wondering why you wait until the veg/greens are all cooked before cutting them into bite-sized pieces. It just looks like an extra step? · 22 November, 2018
Hi Brandy, We don’t want to have big pieces of greens in the rice. To get the the collards and leeks into pieces as uniform and tiny as possible, we need to cut the uncooked collards into very thin ribbons first. Once they are cooked, you cut them even smaller. · 23 November, 2018
Making this as I type. Using Trader Joe”s Brown Rice, Black barley and Daikon radish seed blend. Have my ribbons collards and leek sauteeing. Will admit, I am roasting a chicken in the oven but Gosh! The top of th e stove smells as divine as the inside. I added a can of diced tomatoes in with the rice along with garlic and a pinch of smoked paprika. Love smokiness with my greens. Thank you for th e recipe · 13 December, 2018
Hi Kim! I love that you feel comfortable tweeking recipes! I do it all the time–can’t leave alone and love to work with what I have on hand! I haven’t seen that Trader Joe’s product so thanks for the heads up–I will pick one up next ime I get there. · 13 December, 2018
Loved this! I substituted quinoa for the rice and it was great! I used regular soy sauce and didn’t have the pumpkin seeds. This was my first time making leeks and collard greens and I really loved them! 🙂 · 17 March, 2019
Thank you Rachel. I am going to try this recipe with quinoa–what a good idea! · 18 March, 2019