Three Sisters Stew with Homemade Tortillas Chips

Three Sisters Stew
Serves 4 to 6.

This stew is so easy to make and delicious, too. Best of all, it commemorates the Three Sisters Growing System developed by the Native Americans. When planted together, the Three Sister crops (beans, corn, and squash) help one another grow. 
Beans enrich the soil with nitrogen. Squash grows along the ground, preventing weeds and keeping the soil moist. And corn acts as a trellis for the beans, so the beans can grow up with the corn. This is called Companion Planting. Together, corn, beans, and squash also create a nutritionally balanced meal — like this stew.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (canola, safflower, grapeseed, any veggie oil)
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon fine salt or Morton’s kosher salt (or 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cubed frozen or fresh, peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound)
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained (1 1/2 cups)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (1 1/2 cups)
1 (14.5-ounce) can chopped tomatoes (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups fresh, frozen, or canned corn kernels, drained
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
Sour cream, for serving (optional)
Tortilla chips (optional, recipe below)

Steps:
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until it shimmers.

2. Add the onion, cumin, salt and pepper and sauté, stirring often and lowering the heat slightly if needed, until the onions are see-through, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute more.

4. Add the squash, beans, tomatoes, corn, and broth, and bring to a boil.

5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the flavors meld and the squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed. Serve, topped with some chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream, if you choose, and tortilla chips. Recipe by Jill Santopietro.

Homemade Tortilla Chips
Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil, like canola, safflower or other vegetable oil
8 to 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas (a mix of corn and flour, or just corn is good - thinner tortillas will cook faster)
Kosher salt

Steps:
1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Place the oil in a cup or small bowl. Dip a pastry brush into the oil, and brush the tortillas on both sides with a thin coating of oil. 

2. Stack the tortillas one over the other. Using a large, sharp knife, cut the stack in half, then cut each half again, and each quarter in half again, to make 8 triangular-ish tortilla chip stacks. 

3. Spread the chips out in a single layer on 2 large baking sheets and season them generously with salt. Bake until golden brown and crispy, for about 8 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your tortillas (rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back half way through the cooking). Recipe by Jill Santopietro