Highlighting Native Foods: Three Sisters Chorizo Casserole

Kabocha, a Japanese winter squash that can often be found at Asian grocery stores and sometimes at your local grocer’s, is beautiful, with creamy, deep-orange, and sweet meat.  It is also my all-time favorite squash.   I like them so much that within two days, I had bought two of these suckers at two separate places.  That’s OK.  They’ll be eaten quickly.

The other night, I roasted, peeled, and cubed one of the squash, along with some beets – better to do it all at once, and then have easy access to ready-to-eat veggies throughout the week.  Anyway, the squash has been sitting in the fridge waiting for me to do something with it.  Typically, I serve roasted squash with quinoa that has been spiced with cumin, raisins, pine nuts, and onion.  But, somewhere along the line, I had placed some fresh chicken chorizo on top of the container in which the squash was stored, and I decided to combine them.

I do realize that kabocha is a Japanese variety of squash.  But, after doing some research on how to cook using acorns, I had native foods on the brain, I came up with this Three Sisters (squash, corn, and beans) casserole that is Native American in spirit and which I believe turned out rather well.

The kabocha squash is sweet; for those of you who prefer a slightly blander flavor, try butternut squash instead.  To save time, buy the prepared squash (cubed) at the grocery store and just make sure it is cooked before adding it to the onion and chorizo mixture.  Also, I used chicken chorizo, because I had found some freshly made and knew what was in it, but you can easily substitute a gluten-free soyrizo product like Frieda’s to turn this into a vegetarian dish.

Three Sisters Chorizo Casserole Recipe (GF, DF)

This recipe incorporates the Native American concept of the Three Sisters, companion plants grown together in a mound.  The corn stalks support the vines of the beans; squash grow around the base to provide root shade, pest control, and moisture retention.  Combined with chiles, chorizo, and greens, the three sisters offer a delicious, nutritionally well-balanced meal.

Serves many!  Make it for a holiday party, freeze-it in serving sizes for lunch, or have your friends over for dinner.

• 10-12 oz raw chorizo (GF meat or meatless variety)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red jalapeno, deseeded and minced
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chile powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed
• 1 bunch swiss chard, rinsed, de-stemmed and torn into small pieces
• 1 medium kabocha squash, roasted, peeled, and cubed (about 4-5 cups of squash)
• 1 18-oz tube of pre-made polenta, chopped
• Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly oil an 8×13 baking dish.

In a large pot, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Remove skin from chorizo and saute until just done.  Pour chorizo crumbles into a bowl and set aside.

In the same pot that you cooked the chorizo in, add 1 more Tbsp olive oil.  Saute onion until translucent.  Stir in garlic, jalapeno, spices, and vinegar.  Cook for 2 minutes longer.

Add in swiss chard and cook for a minute, or until chard begins to condense.

Stir in cooked squash cubes and salt to taste.  Turn off heat and set aside.

Crumble ⅔ of the chopped polenta into the bottom of the baking dish, covering it evenly.  Pour all of the squash mixture on top and spread evenly.  Crumble remaining polenta over the top and lightly press into squash mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Serve

Kabocha

Other posts you might enjoy: