Learn the traditional Indigenous dish The Three Sisters Stew from Chef Johl Whiteduck Ringuette!
As part of the UTSU’s eXpression Against Oppression week, we are honoured to be invited into the home of inspiring activist, innovator, speaker, teacher and entrepreneur, Chef Johl for a cultural cooking video lesson to learn a traditional (and delicious! and healthy!) Indigenous stew built around The Three Sisters – squash, corn and beans.
The Three Sisters were popular crops among indigenous cultures across the Americas and named the three sisters because they were planted close together (companion planting) and their combined strengths helped the trio thrive. The beans could climb the taller stocks of the corn. The prickly corn stalks protected all the plants from pests. The leafy squash blocks the sunlight to prevent weeds in the garden and keep moisture in the soil. Corn, beans, and squash contain complex carbohydrates, essential fatty acids and all nine essential amino acids.
Founder and proprietor of the popular restaurant and award-winning First Nations catering business NishDish Marketeria, Chef Johl is Anishinawbe and Algonquin. He was born in North Bay, Ontario and his grandmother is from Nippissing First Nations. NishDish began as Chef Johl’s catering business 15 years ago. The restaurant and storefront, which opened in 2017, served as a home base for the business’s catering operations, while also offering reasonably priced meals and Indigenous-made products to go.
NishDish is more than a restaurant: the vision of Chef Johl’s work is to pursue the broader goal of Indigenous food sovereignty and increase community access to traditional Indigenous foods.
This video part 1 and part 2, will be hosted for at least 1 year so you can watch it and make the dish at any time that works for you.
Three Sisters Stew Ingredients:
1 Butternut squash (or any squash)
1.5 cups Green beans
1.5 cups Yellow corn
1 cup White corn (or hominy corn)
1L vegetable broth or stock
2-3 sprigs fresh dill (or dried)
1 clove garlic (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive oil to taste
NishDish is temporarily closed due to COVID and is working on a contingency plan to re-open with diversified products in an on-line marketeria. You can support NishDish’s pandemic contingency campaign here.
