• Preheat oven to 350 F.

To make the the Carolina Gold Rice Filling:

• Add the Carolina Gold Rice, diced onion, ginger, smoked paprika, and thyme to a medium pot. Cover and toast until aromatic, 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn the rice. Add 2 cups of water and the raisins. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. When rice is done cooking, it will be tender but still have a little texture. Remove the lid, fluff with a fork, and season with salt.
• While the rice simmers, toast your pecans and make sweet potato puree.

To Toast the Pecans:

• Toast pecans on a baking sheet at 350 for 7-8 minutes, until aromatic and golden. Remove from the oven and let cool.

To make the Smoky Sweet Potato Puree:

• Combine the sweet potato and onion in a small pot. Add enough water to come up about an inch from the bottom of the pot. Cover, bring to a boil, and reduce to simmer. This steams the sweet potato and onion. Steam until the sweet potato is knife-glide tender, about 10 minutes.
• Use a wide blender, immersion blender or food processor to puree the sweet potato-onion mixture until smooth. Stir in the smoked paprika and salt. Taste to adjust seasoning. Keep warm until ready to serve.

To Steam the Collard Leaves:

• Use a knife to cut out the stems so that you have just the large leaves. Using a wide pot, heat a 1/2-inch of water to a rolling boil. You can also use a steamer basket, set over 1/2-inch boiling water.
• Add the collard leaves, cover, and let steam about 5 minutes, until tender. Make sure even the collards in the middle are tender. Remove the collards, drain, and let cool. Squeeze out excess liquid.

To Assemble your Carolina Gold Rice Southern Dolmades:

• Set up your Dolmades rolling station: Steamed Collards, Carolina Gold Rice, baking dish. Scoop a large spoonful of the cooked rice on the big end of a collard.
• Fold the “ear” of the leaf over the rice. Start rolling towards the two “tails” of the leaf, tucking in the ends, like you were rolling a burrito. Transfer to the baking dish. Continue with the remaining collards and rice.
• When done, cover the baking dish. Bake the Dolmades at 350F until hot, about 10 minutes.
• Serve Dolmades over the Smoky Sweet Potato Puree and sprinkle with the toasted pecan pieces.