There’s a restaurant on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica called Kye’s. The lunch spot is a favorite of Gwenyth Paltrow and while the food is healthy, it isn’t “over the top green”. The restaurant substitutes your typical wraps and breads with collard greens or nori which make for a healthy but still tasty quick meal. These fresh and vibrant wraps are perfect for hot summer days or picnics at the park. Collard greens make a great wrap shell because they hold up to being stuffed with ingredients and add a nice texture.

Grilled BBQ Salmon and Veggie Collard Green Wraps with Ranch Yogurt Sauce

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

Collard greens – Not all leafy greens can hold ingredients without tearing like collards. The leaves do have a thick stem that has to be removed before wrapping – if you don’t then it won’t fold properly. For a vegetarian wrap the salmon can be substituted for your favorite tofu filling.
Salmon – While the most common type of salmon sold in stores is Atlantic salmon, there are many other varieties. Farm-raised Atlantic salmon is much fattier and thicker than many wild salmon varieties. If you can find it I love using wild Alaskan salmon in this recipe. The salmon is seasoned with salt pepper and BBQ sauce of choice and grilled in this wrap recipe.
Brown rice – Because brown rice is a whole grain rice its considered a healthier alternative. It has a low glycemic index and contains the outer parts of the grain, the bran and the germ which are removed in the production of white rice. They can be used interchangeably in this recipe.
Cauliflower rice – In this recipe I cut the rice with cauliflower rice. Cauliflower rice is now sold at places like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods but it’s just as easy (and cheaper) to make yourself. Just add roughly chopped cauliflower to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse until finely chopped (the size of rice) or simply finely chop it with a chef’s knife.

How to Make BBQ Salmon Collard Wraps

For the BBQ salmon:

Season salmon. Brush the salmon filets with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a grill or grill-pan to a medium-high heat (ensure the grill is clean – otherwise the salmon will stick to the grate).
Grill the salmon. Lightly oil the grill grate with the remaining oil. Place the salmon skin-side down and cook for 3 minutes. Generously brush the salmon all over with the barbecue sauce and flip, grilling skin side up for an additional 2 minutes for medium rare.

To make the ranch yogurt sauce:

Mix the sauce. In a medium bowl stir all the sauce ingredients together with 2 tablespoons of water until completely combined.

For assembly of the collard green wraps:

Stir the filling together. In a medium bowl stir together the rice, cauliflower rice and cilantro until completely combined. Break the salmon into shredded chunks, discarding the skin.
Roll the filling in the collard greens. Remove the thick stem from the collard greens. Working one at a time spoon about ¼ cup of the rice mixture over the leaf then arrange carrot, cabbage and salmon chunks. Wrap the collard green up like you would a burrito and secure with string or parchment paper.
Serve. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.