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RECIPE: Warm Three Sisters Salad With Cranberries (Apetei Neowi Ototeemetiaki Otaatopakooni)
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
Don’t pigeonhole this dish as a fall meal only, chef Crystal Wahpepah writes in A Feather and a Fork. It’s also perfect for those chilly June-uary days in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, when fog and damp call for something sweet-savory and warming. The recipe suggests using mixed greens or arugula, though she notes that wild, foraged greens like dandelion will offer the same sharp note you’re after.
Ingredients
- 2 cups red cranberry beans
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- 5 whole garlic cloves
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup cooked hominy (see note)
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 2 cups dried cranberries
- 1 lb arugula or mixed greens
- 1/4 cup Maple-Chili Oil
Instructions
- Rinse and sort the cranberry beans and soak them in enough water to cover for 1 hour prior to cooking. Drain the beans well, then fill a large saucepan with 8 cups of water, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the beans. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer the beans for about 2 hours, until tender. While the beans cook, you can prepare the other ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toss the cubed squash, garlic, rosemary, oil, the remaining salt, and pepper in a bowl. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet, and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the squash is tender and lightly browned.
- Remove the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and sprinkle over the squash. Mash the garlic into a soft paste.
- Drain the cooked beans. While the beans and squash are still warm, toss the beans, squash, garlic paste, hominy, onion, cranberries, arugula, and maple-chili oil together in a large bowl. The arugula will wilt slightly. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking.
- Divide the salad among 4 medium bowls and cozy up for a healthy lunch or dinner.
Notes
Feel free to use leftover cooked squash or pumpkin, and substitute a 15.5-ounce can of white or yellow hominy, drained, in this recipe.
The Three Sisters
The three sisters — beans, corn, and squash — have been planted together in Indigenous agriculture for millennia, because they grow symbiotically and can produce higher yields than monocropping. The beans fix nitrogen to enrich the soil, the skyward corn stalks give the beans a trellis to climb, and the squash suppresses weeds and provides shade with its broad leaves.
Try Crystal’s Three Sisters Veggie Bowl, too!
Excerpted from A Feather and a Fork by Crystal Wahpepah with Amy Paige Condon Copyright © 2026 by Crystal Wahpepah with Amy Paige Condon. Excerpted by permission of Rodale Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
