The Soup Kitchen: Three Sisters Stew

 In the Native American culture there are the three sisters, which are beans, corn, and squash. This is due to the symbiotic relationship they have when being grown together. Three sisters stew combines hominy, beans, and squash with lean bison traditionally. This recipe is from Lee Garman, the executive chef of Owamni, a Minneapolis restaurant started by Sean Sherman. It is a Native American restaurant that focuses on purchasing from indigenous food producers locally and nationally. They avoid wheat flour, cane sugar, and dairy. This is due to the fact that they were brought in by outside influences. The flavors are traditionally rounded out by lean bison, sweet onions, and garlic. The three sisters companion planting originated in North America 3000 years ago. They support each other by providing nutrients for each to thrive. 

I loved hominy growing up so I was excited to try this stew. I also tried to stay as close to the recipe as I could with what the Native Americans would have used. Some changes or additions I made were using ground beefalo instead of bison, using butter instead of duck fat, and adding some chipotle pepper powder. I also used frozen butternut squash instead of fresh. 

The ingredients:

1lb butternut squash

1 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp kosher salt divided, plus more for taste

1lb bison ribeye cut into cubes

2 TBSP vegetable oil

2 TBSP duck fat

2 medium yellow onions sliced (3 C)

1 TBSP minced garlic

water as needed

8 C beef stock divided

2 cans hominy drained and rinsed

2 cans of black beans drained and rinsed

The recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place squash cut side up on foil lined baking sheet. Rub cut sides with maple syrup and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt. Roast in preheated oven until tender approx. 40-50 minutes. 

2. Sprinkle bison with 1 tsp of salt. Heat oil in large pot, add bison and cook until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove bison, reserving drippings in pot, add duck fat, onions, and garlic, scraping the bottom to dissolve any browned bits. Cook onion mixture over medium-high heat stirring frequently until very softened and caramelized. Add water 2-4 TBSP at a time as needed to deglaze and prevent browned bits from burning. 

3. Scoop roasted squash flesh into a blender, and discard the skins, add the onion mixture and 4 C of the stock. Process until smooth about 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

4. Return squash mixture to the pot, add bison, remaining 4 C stock, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to simmer over medium. Reduce heat to medium low, partially cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally until bison is fork tender about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Add additional water 1/2 C to 1 C at a time as needed to keep bison submerged adjust heat as needed to maintain a simmer. 

5. Stir in hominy and black beans into pot, cook uncovered and stirring occasionally, until heated through, adjusting consistency with water as needed and seasoning to taste with salt, if desired. 

Note: I made this in the crockpot with ground beefalo which has a much faster cook time, so I cooked the meat with some onion then added to crockpot and added all the other ingredients and cooked on low for 5 hours. Mine was not super thick. I also made some cornbread to go with this. Next time I might add the cornbread in the soup to thicken it up a bit. If you are not a fan of hominy you may not like this stew. I can definitely taste the hominy more than the other things it seems. 

Recipe from foodandwine.com