Recipe by Sarah Glover, Photos by Katrina Parker

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This hearty recipe celebrates the Three Sisters Garden practice and the launch of Sarah Glover’s newest book: Open Skies, a celebration of America’s wide-open spaces and food’s connection to place. Her book illustrates a road trip across America and how delicious, liberating, and cooking on the open road can be. The cookbook is now for pre-order on Amazon or via major bookstores.

The Three Sisters Garden Practice

The "three sisters" is a traditional Native American gardening practice that involves growing three crops: corn, beans, and squash, in a mutually beneficial relationship. The corn provides a natural trellis for the beans to climb, while the beans fix nitrogen in the soil, which benefits the corn and squash. The squash, with its large leaves, helps suppress weed growth and retains moisture in the soil.

The three sisters are often planted together in mounds or hills, with the corn planted in the center and the beans and squash planted around the corn. This practice has been used for centuries by Native American communities and is an excellent example of companion planting and sustainable agriculture.

How to Make
Hominy, Tepary Beans & Squash: The Three Sisters Recipe

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 g) dried hominy
• 1 cup (200 g) dried brown tepary beans
• 1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound/500 g), peeled, halved, seeds and membranes scraped away, flesh cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoon Hatch chile powder or any mild smoked red chile powder
• Sea salt
• 1 1⁄2 cups chopped kale or spinach
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Materials

• Grill Grate
• Dutch oven
• 1 large skillet
• Saucepan
• Large spoon
• Bowls for serving

Instructions

1. Place the hominy and tepary beans in separate bowls. Add enough water to each bowl to cover the ingredients, then set aside to soak overnight at room temperature.
2. The next day, light a fire and let it burn down for 1 hour until you obtain a medium heat.
3. Place a grill grate about 8 inches above the fire.
4. Drain the hominy and the beans and place them in separate large saucepans with tight-fitting lids.
5. Add enough water to cover the hominy and tepary beans, then bring the water to a boil over the fire. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until tender. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking liquid and drain the hominy and beans. Set aside.
6. Toss the squash with one tablespoon of the oil and a pinch of salt.
7. Arrange the squash in an even layer on the grill grate and roast, turning over halfway through cooking. Do this for 20 minutes or until golden and very tender.
8. In a large skillet, heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, chile powder, and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes, until the onions are soft and golden in color. Add the reserved cooking liquid and bring to a simmer. Add the cooked hominy and beans to the skillet, then stir in the roasted squash and greens.
9. Season to taste with salt and serve with some feta cheese.

About

Sarah Glover is the James Beard-nominated author of the Wild Adventure Cookbook and Wild Child—a road trip across America that show how delicious, liberating, and cooking on the open road can be. Her recipes celebrate beautiful, healthy, food cooked outdoors and encourage you to bring your own individual flair and sense of adventure to the kitchen. Her new cookbook Open Skies is now for pre-order on Amazon or via major bookstores.