Three Sisters Fry Bread with Sautéed Baby Kale

I just got the new “Best of” Veg News magazine and they featured this recipe.  Anything that has “fry” in the name sounds good to me.  Fry bread, or bannock, is a traditional Native American bread and combines the “three sisters”: corn, beans and squash.  I actually had all of the ingredients the recipe called for in my kitchen.  They were a big hit and I will be making them for Thanksgiving for sure.

I adapted the recipe by using gluten free flour, roasting the butternut squash, and decreasing the amount of sage the recipe calls for.   I also used my 3 tablespoon ice cream scooper to make 12 smaller breads (vs. 6 in the recipe.)

Fry Bread
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup mashed pinto beans, soaked overnight and cooked
1 cup mashed butternut squash, roasted in olive oil with salt and pepper (approx 1/2 of a good size butternut squash)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
Warm water (3 to 4 tablespoons)

Sautéed Baby Kale
Safflower oil
Baby Kale
1/2 fresh lemon
S and P

Soak the beans overnight and then cook.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400.  Peel and dice the butternut squash and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Turn out onto baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.

Measure out a cup of beans and mash them.  Mash the butternut squash right on the baking sheet and place it into a 1 cup measuring cup until you have a cup.  Save the rest for something good…

In a big mixing bowl combine the brown rice flour, cornmeal, mashed pinto beans, mashed butternut squash, baking powder, and sage.  Use your hands to combine well.  Add as much warm water as to get the dough to come together.  Using an ice cream scooper, make 12 dough balls, and then  flatten them out for cooking. 

In a non-stick skillet, heat up safflower oil.  Cook the dough on one side until it is crispy and the turn it over and cook the other side.

In another skillet, heat up a dash of olive oil and wilt the kale.  Toss in the juice of 1/2 of a fresh lemon and salt.  Toss.

Serve the bread with a healthy portion of kale!