Three Sisters Succotash

or RATATOUILLE DE TROIS SOUERS

AUGUST 22 2022

“At the height of summer, when the days are long and bright, the lessons of reciprocity are written clearly in a three sisters garden. Together their stems inscribe what looks to me like a blueprint for the world, a map of balance and harmony. Together these plants—corn, bean and squash--feed people, feed the land, and feed our imaginations.”

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

 as featured in Botanarchy Times Volume VIII

Every year, late summer wills me into surrender right in time. The heat rises and I keep efforting toward all my plans and schemes until I cyclically acquiesce to her humid caress. Alaine Duncan says that late summer brings the yin medicine of “harvesting the wisdom of the year” before we sow new seeds in autumn.

 This recipe is a humble bow to the merciful wisdom of the body and the land. It weaves together threads of several heritage food traditions that teach me how to lean into the earth when feelings come on strong, whether physical or emotional.

 This easy dish is a French riff on succotash… or maybe it is a Southwestern spin on ratatouille. I opt for haricot verts and shallot over lima beans and onion. And gobs of butter.  The primary ingredients are the three sisters of Indigenous American agricultural wisdom--corn, pole beans and squash, usually abundantly available this time of year. The raw sungolds and shallot give a slight crunch I often crave in the summertime. Plus lime, ground cumin and fennel to encourage absorption.

 When your skin {and mood} is too warm for hot food but your digestion is exhausted of raw salads, I offer you this culinary compromise…

 … and please do listen to Robin Wall Kimmerer recite her poetic incantation about the splendor of these interdependent crops while you chop

INGREDIENTS

serves 4

 3 tablespoons butter or ghee

 3 ears of corn, shucked

+if you’re up for one extra step, use this technique to preserve the milk

 1 cup haricot verts, diced

 1 jalapeno or fresno chili

            +or  half jalapeno and half fresno for color

 1 small lime, zested + juiced

 2 medium or 3 small zucchini,  petitely cubed

            +gently pat down with a cloth to absorb excess water

 1 shallot, minced

 1/3 cup small sungold tomatoes, stemmed and sliced in half

 1 tablespoon ground cumin seed

 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed

 Stemmed cilantro leaves to your liking

            +this is HEAPS in my case

            + mint is also delicious

 PREPARATION

 Set butter over medium flame in a skillet. Once melted, add ground cumin and fennel. Gently swirl to prevent the dry spices from burning.

 Once your butter and spice blend becomes aromatic, add your husked corn kernels, ½ the lime juice, haricots verts and jalapeno/chili.

 Sautee for two to three minutes until corn and haricots are just cooked through, but not soft.  A little size and singe on your corn doesn’t hurt, though.

 If you separated out the milk from your corn, now is the time to add a generous splash to your skillet.

 Add the zucchini. Sautee for another minute, tops. If any of the veg is gets soft or mushy in the pan, lower the heat and drain out any lingering liquid.

 Remove your skillet from heat and softly scrape everything into a serving dish. Allow to cool just to room temperature and add shallot. Toss then garnish with sliced sungolds, cilantro, mint, lime zest and the remainder of your lime juice, if you desire a bit more acid.

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