Wannabe Banh Mi Collard Wraps with Curry-Lime Aioli
Irony has been sitting at my dinner table lately, trying to slap away any sort of enjoyment I find in my food. We started a site about pocket foods (most of which are wrapped in some sort of dough) and then I learn I shouldn’t eat them. I’m a food photographer and can no longer indulge in 90% of the goodness I am paid to style and capture. Life is funny.
These days, I’m stuck on a low-FODMAP and Whole 30 eating plan: sugar-free, dairy-free, alcohol-free, grain-free, gluten-free, legume-free, garlic-free, onion-free, fun-free. Oops, did I leave that last bit in there? Ok, ok. It’s not fun-free, rather a challenge.
I like a good challenge.
Thankfully, I’ve become great at modifying recipes to fit this dramatic AF lifestyle change. I have gone so far as to modify a slew of new favorites from Alison Roman’s “Dining In,” “Cherry Bombe: The Cookbook,” and Molly Yeh’s “Molly on the Range.” When it comes to modifying, I’m your girl. And when your girl craves something she can’t eat, like a banh mi, she’s gonna find a way to make it happen.
I’ll call this a wannabe banh mi, since this is about as close as I can get for now. This flavorful combo satiated my hankering: leftover paprika-rubbed chicken, carrot and daikon radish pickles — all inspired by Queen Alison Roman’s new book — plus crisp Persian cucumber, crunchy pepitas, fresh cilantro, hot sauce all slathered with a Whole30-approved curry-lime aioli. This will make your taste buds squeal in the best way.
For this recipe, I grabbed fresh collards, carrots and purple daikon at the Durham Farmers’ Market. I made turmeric pickled carrots and Aleppo pepper pickled purple daikon (say that three times fast) to add a lot of flavors (and color!) to these wraps, also inspired by “Dining In.” Any pickled veggie would work well in this “banh mi,” but I was craving colorful, crunchy, spicy and highly anti-inflammatory veggies.
Whole 30 Banh Mi Collard Wraps with Curry-Lime Aioli
Banh Mi Collard Wrap Ingredients
Filling & Wrap
Curry-Lime Aioli
4 collard leaves
About a cup shredded chicken
Turmeric pickled carrots
Aleppo pepper pickled purple daikon
2 Persian cucumbers, cut into sticks
Cilantro
Toasted pepitas
Hot sauce
¼ c. Whole-30 approved aioli
1 teaspoon curry
Juice of half a lime
Banh Mi Collard Wraps Directions
To your Whole30 aioli (I use about a teaspoon of garlic oil, rather than mashed garlic when making the mayo because I cannot eat garlic on low-FODMAP), add the curry powder and lime juice. Mix well.
Wash and dry your collards. If you have young collards, tear off the bottom stem. If your stems are tough, you can remove them and layer 2 leaves over each other, like this.
Slather the inside of a collard leaf with a generous spoonful of curry-lime aioli.
Build your wrap by adding cucumber, crosswise to the collard leaf. Add chicken, then spoon in carrots and daikon.
Sprinkle cilantro leaves and pepitas over the top.
Add hot sauce.
From the thick end of the stem (if you left it in, if not just roll away), roll your collard upward, like you would a burrito. If you left part of the stem on, it may crack a bit as you form your wrap-- that’s ok! As you roll, pull in the sides to form a tight wrap.
Cut the wraps in half and serve immediately.
