This piece was made possible as part of a grant from the Julia Child Foundation
Through The Sioux Chef, founder and Indigenous food activist Sean Sherman and his team are working to revitalize Native American Cuisine. The team founded North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NāTIFS), a non-profit organization providing opportunities for people to learn about Native cuisine and develop food enterprises in their tribal communities.
The Sioux Chef recently shared one of their recipes highlighting – and celebrating – Indigenous ingredients.
The Sioux Chef:
Using ingredients and flavors around us, we strive to make food taste like where we are. We prioritize purchasing ingredients from Indigenous food producers and focus on the true flavors of our region.
Using Native grown produce and flora from the forests surrounding our lakes, there are so many flavors ripe with nutrition and flavor that represents a culmination of harvesting through our intense seasons of hot summers through frozen winters.
This recipe is simple in form and is perfect for a family gathering. Feel free to swap out the protein with other animals from your region and order true Indigenous Harvested Wild Rice from our many Minnesota Tribes.
Great Lakes Venison Roast
Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 4.5 Hours
Ingredients:
Protein:
3 lbs Venison, Top or Bottom Round
Vegetation:
1 Onion, Large Dice
1 Cup Wild Rice, Hand Harvested Native Sold
6 Ea Sunchokes, Halved
1/2 Acorn Squash, Cut in Large Pieces
1 Cup Dandelion Greens, Rough Chopped and Tightly Packed
1/2 Cup Pepitas or Sunflower Seed
Flora and Flavor:
1 Cup Wild White Cedar Bough, Loosely Packed
1/2 Cup Cranberries, Whole Fresh or Frozen
2 TBS Bergamot, Wild Harvested
1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup, Native Produced
2 TBS Salt
5 Cups Water
1/4 Cup Sunflower Oil
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Rub salt over the meat. In a heavy cast iron pan, heat oil and sear each side of the roast. Move seared roast to a large cast iron dutch oven or roasting pot and add all ingredients around meat and place Cedar on top of it. Place lid on pot and place in the oven for 4 1/2 hours. Remove pot from oven, remove cedar bough and serve pot roast style with a choice of sides like a wild green salad and fresh cornbread with pure Maple Syrup bought from an Indigenous producer.
Photo courtesy of the Indigenous Food Lab
