Ahh..Autumn, my favorite time of year! Witches are everywhere, Samhain is right around the corner! Even here in the tropics the weather changes ever-so-slightly, the sun shines differently, there's a little breeze. I turn inward, my Kitchen Witch comes out and I start spending more time over the hearth.
To celebrate Mabon, made a batch of Three Sisters from the cookbook, A Witch in the Kitchen by Cait Johnson.
Three Sisters Harvest Stew
This is a dish rich with textures, colors, and history. The "three sisters" refer to what the early Native Americans called corn, squash and beans.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large carrot cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup butternut squash, cubed (for a quicker-cooking variation, use 1 cup yellow or crookneck squash, cubed)
1 can beans, drained (garbanzos, with their harvest gold color, are my favorite, but you could try butter beans, small red beans, or pintos - whatever pleases you)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
sea salt
1 dried chipotle pepper (optional)
Water or vegetable broth, as needed
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
In a large stew pot, heat the olive oil. Add the chopped onion and stir to coat with the oil.
Sauté until golden, the add the garlic, carrot pieces, squash, beans, corn, sage, sea salt to taste, and the chipotle pepper, if you desire. Though the pepper is optional, the smoky taste is reminiscent of the first hearth fires of the season, perfect for autumn.
Simmer the stew, adding the water or vegetable broth as needed, until the squash is tender, the add the parsley and stir thoroughly.
Serve piping hot.
Notes: I used garbanzo beans as called for, frozen diced butternut squash for convenience, and Trader Joe's fire-roasted corn. I didn't have a chipotle pepper so I used a little Chipotle in Adobo for spice. So yummy! I would say this makes more like 4 servings, not 6, but perhaps that's because I eat it as a main course, and I have a big appetite. ;)
Brightest Mabon Blessings,
Rapunzel~
