Native American Recipes
Three Sisters Stew
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 jalapeno chili, finely chopped (optional)
4 cups yellow summer squash, sliced (about 1 pound)
4 cups zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 2 medium zucchini)
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 1 pound)
3 cups green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 1 pound)
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 teaspoon dried Thyme leaves
2- 16 oz. cans kidney beans, undrained
Heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic and chili in oil for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook over low heat 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently until squash is tender. Yield: 6 servings
Baked Acorn Squash
Ingredients:
4 medium-sized Acorn Squash
8 tablespoons butter or margarine
16 teaspoons honey
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Slice the squash in half crosswise and scoop out the pulp and seeds. Trim the bottoms, if necessary, so that the squash will stand flat, hollow side up.
Place 2 teaspoons honey in the hollow of each squash, then add 1 tablespoon butter or margarine to each and a twist or two of fresh ground pepper.
Place squash in a large, shallow baking pan and bake, uncovered, in a moderate oven, 350 degrees, for about 2-1/2 hours or until the squash are tender.
Algonquian Nokake
Ingredients:
2 Cups Cornmeal
2 Cups Water
2 Tabls. Butter
2 Teasp. Salt
1 Tabls. Fresh Dill, Chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring water to boil in a saucepan. Add cornmeal, butter, salt, and chopped dill.
Place mixture in buttered 8 inch cake pan; bake for 25 minutes or until done. Cut into squares and serve.
Zucchini Carrot Dessert Bars
Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded carrot
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
1-2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together the vegetable oil, honey, and eggs until light and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients except the orange juice concentrate, and mix. Spread into a lightly oiled 13 X 9 baking pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in the pan. Glaze with orange juice concentrate before cutting into bars. Yields 24 bars.
Basic Ojibwe Fry Bread and Toppings
Dig out your favorite mixing bowl (avoid plastic!)
Ingredients:
4c flour
3 tsp baking powder
2c warm milk
pinch salt
splash corn, canola, or light olive oil
vegetable oil for frying (Please avoid lard!)
Blend dry ingredients, then add oil and milk. Mix quickly with a wooden spoon and/or your hands - avoid over-mixing. Cover bowl with a clean white cotton cloth and set in a warm area for at least 15 minutes.
Remove the cloth and dust the dough with a little more flour. Pull out pieces of dough and form into flat discs (with or without a hole in the center) with your hands. (If it's quite sticky, sprinkle a little more flour on)
Gently place into (cast iron) frying pan 1/2 full of HOT frying oil - a corn-canola blend works well. Use tongs to turn bread - cook both sides golden brown.
Secret ingredient - add a little pure maple sugar or syrup to the milk just before you pour it into the dry ingredients. For special toppings, try blueberries – fresh or frozen, mixed berries (you can find these in the frozen food section year round), strawberries, regular powdered sugar, or some cooked pumpkin pie filling.
We also use fry bread as a main meal at times, with cooked wild rice and bacon pieces sprinkled over the top. The possibilities are endless! Be creative!
Blueberry Fritters (Eastern Woodlands)
Ingredients:
• 2 9-oz packages frozen blueberries
• 4 cups flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 cups shortening or oil for deep-fat frying
• 5 eggs
Instructions:
Thaw the blueberries well; drain off syrup and save. Sift together the dry ingredients. Measure the blueberry syrup. There should be about 1/2 cup. If not, add water to complete the measure.
Place shortening or oil in a heavy, deep kettle and begin heating gradually. By the time you have finished mixing the fritters, the fat should register 350 degrees on a deep-fat-frying thermometer and be just right for frying.
Beat the eggs with the blueberry syrup until foamy.
Mix quickly into the dry ingredients, and fold in the berries.
Drop from a tablespoon into the hot fat. Turn the fritters frequently as they cook so that they become chocolate brown on all sides.
Drain on paper toweling and serve hot.
It may seem odd to associate fritters and dumplings with Indian cookery. Yet Indian women have been mixing berries and batters, wrapping bits of fruit in dough and deep-fat frying them for as long as they have had fruit, flour, and fat for deep frying.
Bison Cranberry Stew
Serves up to 8 adults.
Your cranberries deserve a change this Thanksgiving, and so do you. Try this great bison alternative and save the turkey for Christmas.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoon canola oil
2 lb bison stew meat, cut in one inch cubes or smaller
2 1/2 cups water, plus top up water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely ground
1 medium size onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry red wine, or 1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon paprika
3 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
8 carrots, scraped, split and cut in thirds
4 potatoes (4 cups in volume), peeled and cut into large cubes
1 1/4 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
3 stalks celery, split and cut in short strips
4 tablespoon maple syrup, or 2 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
Put canola oil in a 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven. Over medium high heat brown bison cubes.
Once bison cubes are browned, add 2 1/2 cups water, salt and pepper to Dutch oven. Bring contents to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for
30 minutes.
Add onion, garlic, wine (or balsamic vinegar), Worcestershire sauce, paprika, cloves and bay leaves to Dutch oven. Cover and continue to simmer for
1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so.
Add carrots, potatoes, cranberries and celery. Top-up casserole dish with additional water to cover contents (usually another 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups). Add maple syrup or brown sugar, especially if vinegar is used. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for another 30 to 45 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Adjust seasonings—more salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce may be required.
Using a separate bowl, make thickener by gradually stirring 1 cup water into 1/2 cup rye or whole-wheat flour.
Increase heat so that stew maintains a moderate boil. Gradually blend in thickener. After a minute or two of additional cooking stew will thicken sufficiently. Remove bay leaves and serve. Re-heats well.
Cherokee Chicken
Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 2 Tbsp. minced onion
• 1 green pepper, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 frying chicken, disjointed
• 8 oz. can whole cranberry sauce
Instructions:
Heat oil and butter in a 12 inch skillet. Add chicken; cook until golden brown on all sides. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp. fat. Add green pepper, garlic and onion; cook until soft. Add cranberries, salt and pepper. Cover, simmer 25 minutes. Serves 4 to 6. Cranberries are a substitute for wild berries which were originally used in this recipe.
Fish Chowder (Canadian Sioux)
Ingredients:
• 1 cup Chopped onion
• 4 cups Cubed potatoes
• 1 tbs Salt
• 1/8 tbs Pepper
• 5 cups your choice of raw fish, 3/4" cubes
• 1 qt Boiling water
• 2 cups Milk
• 1 cup Half & half cream
• 1 ea Parsley or chives
Instructions:
Add potatoes, onions, salt and pepper to water. Cook about 10 min, until vegetables are soft, but not completely cooked. Add fish and cook 10 min. Add milk and light cream, stir and heat 15 minutes longer. DO NOT BOIL. Serve with parsley or chives.
Salmon Cakes
Ingredients:
• 1 lb canned salmon, flaked (including liquid)
• 4 juniper berries, crushed
• 1/3 cup corn meal
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup milk
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients together, spoon into a well-greased muffin tin, and bake in a moderate oven, 350 degrees, for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
Lemongrass-Poached Tilapia with Julienned Vegetables
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup water, fish stock or vegetable stock
2 Tbsp lemon grass, fresh, finely chopped
2 Tbsp ginger root, fresh, finely chopped
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 pound raw Tilapia, four 4-oz filets
2 large carrot(s), julienned
4 medium scallion(s), julienned
3 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped
8 oz Eden Selected 100% Buckwheat Soba Noodles, or other brand, cooked and kept hot .
Pour stock (or water) into a large sauté pan with 2- to 3-inch sides. Add lemon grass, ginger and soy sauce; simmer for 5 minutes over medium-low heat.
Place Tilapia in pan; top with carrots and scallions. Cook until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 5 to 7 minutes. Top with cilantro and serve over noodles. Yields 1 filet, about 1/2 cup of broth, 1/4 cup of vegetables and 3/4 cup of noodles per serving. Makes 4 servings.
Roast Loin of Venison with Cranberries
(Some of this needs to be done the day before roasting, so plan accordingly)
Ingredients:
2 thick slices of lemon
2 thick slices of orange
2 slices of peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 small bay leaf
2 cups fresh cranberries
4 pounds boneless loin of venison, at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped juniper berries
2 cups dry red wine
2 cups beef or venison stock
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
Fresh thyme sprigs, for garnish
In a medium non-reactive saucepan, combine the lemon, orange, ginger, sugar and bay leaf with 1 cup of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to moderate and
boil, uncovered, until syrupy, 10 to 15 minutes.
Stir in the cranberries, then remove from heat and cool. Transfer the mixture to a glass container, cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days, stirring once or twice during that time.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Rub the venison with the olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon of the pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the chopped juniper berries, pressing the seasonings into the meat. Set the loin on a rack in a roasting pan and roast, basting frequently with the pan juices, until medium-rare (about 135F on a meat thermometer), 25 to 30 minutes. Cover the venison loosely with foil and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
Meanwhile, remove and discard the bay leaf and the lemon, orange and ginger slices from the cranberries. In a food processor or blender, puree half the cranberries and half the liquid until smooth.
In a medium non-reactive saucepan, boil the wine over high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the cranberry puree, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered,
until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Strain the remaining whole cranberries and add them to the sauce with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of salt, pepper and chopped juniper berries. Swirl in the cold butter.
Slice the venison thinly (stir any juices into the sauce) and serve wtih the sauce, reheated if necessary.
Wojapi - (Wo zha pee) – Berry Pudding or Fry Bread Topping
5 lb. bag of frozen berries (blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry or a mix)
8 cups of water
2 cups of sugar
Cornstarch
To a 5 quart pot (enamel or stainless steel) add all the berries and smash them with a potato masher. To the smashed berries add the water and sugar. Boil (lightly) this mixture for approx. 15-20 minutes until everything is cooked. Thicken to desired thickness with cornstarch that has been dissolved in cold water.
Serve warm and eat with Indian Fry Bread. Dip the bread into the Wojapi, or cover top of Fry Bread with mixture.
