Honoring the Ingredients that Define Our Community
Words and Photos by Stephanie Cameron
By tapping into Indigenous food groups and local, traditional farming
practices and diversifying our diets, we’re not just enabling a healthier
lifestyle that is sustainable, but we’re also reclaiming a food system that is
holistic, ethical, and that is restorative to the planet.
—Louise Mabulo, Founder of The Cacao Project and UN Young Champion
Taking inspiration from YouTuber Christina Ng, a.k.a. East Meets Kitchen, I wanted this edition of Cooking Fresh to reflect an awareness of the Native ingredients I have chosen to highlight—the Three Sisters—corn, squash, and beans. In her video series Native American Recipes, Ng honors the recipes she shares by learning the history of the ingredients to better understand the food she is making. I took the same approach, combing the internet and diving into some beautiful cookbooks by Sean Sherman, Lois Ellen Frank, Roxanne Swentzell, and Freddie Bitsoie to foster an appreciation and knowledge of traditional Native foods. They are among the many Native American chefs working to reclaim their cuisines—and sometimes to reinvent them. While many Native American dishes have been absorbed into what we see today as American cuisine, environmental scientist Mariah Gladstone of Indigikitchen reminds us that Native foods aren’t only a part of the past but an essential and exciting aspect of the future.
There are many variations of the following recipes, each with adjustments to ingredients available in a given tribal region, often passed down for generations by Native ancestors. I don’t take credit for any of these recipes; I found versions that appealed to my palate, and tested, tasted, and adapted them for ingredients I could find in New Mexico during the winter. Each dish has seasonal possibilities. From summer squash to winter squash and fresh corn off the cob to dried hominy and chicos, there are many ways to make these dishes throughout the year, but all are rooted in the Three Sisters. While these ingredients and these dishes have limitless possibilities, and rising Native chefs fuse culinary traditions as often as all chefs, I wanted to select recipes that profile these staples that have so deeply shaped what we see today as New Mexican cuisine. I also committed, as much as possible, to making these recipes without colonial ingredients: wheat flour, dairy, cane sugar, or products from domesticated animals.
The Basics
These basic formulas are simple recipes for completing the more complex recipes that follow. All of them can stand on their own or be added as side dishes to a meal. Making a pot of beans on Sunday that can be used in a variety of ways is a great jump on meal prep for the week.
Beans
Cook 2 cups (1 pound) of beans (pinto, Anasazi, or bolita) in 6 cups of water on the high setting of a slow cooker for 6–8 hours. Salt, to taste. Alternatively, beans can be simmered on the stove top for 6–8 hours if soaked overnight beforehand. If cooking tepary beans, reduce cooking time to 1 1/2–2 hours.
Note: You can substitute canned beans instead of home-cooked beans in most recipes, but home-cooked beans will always have better texture and flavor. Dried beans should always be cooked within a year, for freshness.
The Math:
- 1 (15-ounce) can of beans = 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans
- 1 cup dry beans = 3 cups of cooked beans, drained
- 1 pound of dry beans = 6 cups of cooked beans, drained
Chicos
Makes 3 cups
Cook 1 cup of chicos in 6 cups of water for 6–8 hours in a slow cooker. Salt, to taste.
Blue Corn Mush
Makes 2 cups
Mix 1/2 cup roasted blue corn flour or blue cornmeal and 1 teaspoon juniper ash together with a whisk until evenly distributed. Set aside. Place 2 cups of cold water in a pot and add the flour mixture before placing the pot on the stovetop, whisking together until smooth. Cook over medium heat until sputtering begins, and then turn to low heat; keep stirring continuously for about 10–15 minutes as the mush thickens up. Serve with fresh or dried berries, seeds, nuts, and/or maple syrup.
Corn Stock
Makes 4–6 cups
Don’t toss your corncobs! Put them in a freezer bag until you are ready to make corn stock. Place 6 corncobs in a large pot and cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to simmer. Partially cover and let the stock reduce until it tastes like corn, about 1 hour. Discard the cobs and store the corn stock in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.
Fried Herbs
Coat the bottom of a skillet with sunflower oil, heat until shimmering, then add sage or oregano leaves in a single layer. Watch them closely—it only takes about 30 seconds or so for them to crisp up—then remove them with a slotted spoon. Put them on a plate lined with paper towels, then transfer to a serving plate. Sprinkle immediately with salt, to taste.