16ouncesChunky Red Pepper Marinara, divided(see note for link to recipe)
Instructions
Make the rice - I use my Instant Pot in lieu of a rice cooker, but you should pre-cook the rice however you're used to doing it.
Prep the collards and the veg - Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add 1 T of salt. De-stem the collards. Plunge all of the collard green leaves into the boiling water and boil gently for 10 minutes, swishing them around every so often. Using tongs, pull them out of the water, shaking off as much water as you can, and spread them out on layers of clean kitchen towels. Then roll the towels to squeeze out as much of the water as you can. While the collards are cooking, chop the onion and squash. Remove the stem and the seeds from the serrano pepper, and chop it into a small dice.
Sauté the beef and the veg - Add the beef and a teaspoon or so of salt to a large pan (if you're not in a hurry you can use the same pot you used to boil the collards). Sauté, breaking the ground beef up up as it browns. When there's not much pink left, add in the onion, squash, and pepper. Salt generously, and continue to cook, until the veg is soft and there is very little liquid left in the pan. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool.
Preheat the oven and make the filling - Preheat the oven to 350℉. Once the ground beef and veg mixture has cooled, stir in the feta, egg, pesto, and ricotta.
Stuff the Collards - Pour 6-8 ounces of the marinara into your baking dish and spread it evenly. Unroll the towels and lay the collards out on your counter, arranging them so that you have them evenly apportioned so that you are stuffing each leaf or combination of leaves so that they're approximately the same size. Put a good dollop of the filling at the widest point, fold the top over the filling, squeezing it slightly so that you're making a snug roll, then roll, top to bottom, holding the filling in at both ends. Arrange the rolls in the baking dish.
Bake - Pour the rest of the marinara across the center of the collard green rolls. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Then uncover, sprinkle the Parmesan and breadcrumbs across the top of the marinara, and bake another 5-10 minutes.