November 11, 2023

Three Sisters Flatbreads with Marinaded Tepary Beans

If you’re looking for a vegan or vegetarian Thanksgiving main dish, but don’t want to go in a meat alternative direction, try this beautiful autumnal flatbread with marinaded tepary beans, squash sauce, and a masa crust. It brings Thanksgiving flavors like sage, corn, and squash, is stunningly beautiful, hearty and filling, and a wonderful centerpiece to share. There are bits of sweet, nutty, earthy, fresh, and so much more. This flatbread truly is dynamic, and pays homage to ingredients that have been grown in the Americas for thousands of years.

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The Three Sisters

Celebrating Thanksgiving doesn’t always feel like the most morally sound of holidays. Like most of the people now living in the United States, my ancestors came to this country within the last few hundred years. The story of Thanksgiving, while not really historically accurate, is that of the Native people living in the Americas peacefully breaking bread with the white colonists. This story, however, is not a good representation of what that time in history really looked like, given the complete destruction of Native communities and loss in Native lives.

On the other hand, celebrating thankfulness, having gratitude, and appreciating the bounty of local and seasonal produce we have is something I can honor. Because of that, I’ve chosen to celebrate this Thanksgiving with a seasonal vegan main course that pays homage to the Three Sisters.

The Three Sisters are a piece of mythology, and also an agricultural practice found in many different tribes. They are represented by three crops- squash, corn, and beans- which grow together and each contribute to the other two crops. They are just one example of Native people practicing what we would today call companion planting, or integrative crop systems, but long before those terms came about. The plants are centered around the stalks of the corn. They grow up tall and straight. The beans grow up the corn, using the stalks for support. They act as nitrogen fixers, sustaining the beans and squash. The squash grow at the base of the corn, providing ground cover, suppressing weeds and deterring pests with their spiky leaves. There are many stories of the three sisters, that generally focus on how the sisters support and protect each other and help the others to flourish, which in turn leads to them all flourishing. Rather than poorly retelling the story of the three sisters, I will redirect you to this version told by a Mohawk Elder and a second version which is a version told by the Cherokee.

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How to Make These Marinaded Tepary Beans Flatbreads

While these flatbreads are not hard to make, they are not one of those “five ingredients or less” or “make it in under 30 minutes” types of recipes. This flatbread needs a little extra time and love to make – perfect for a Thanksgiving centerpiece. There are three main components to this dish. A masa pizza crust, marinated tepary beans, and a creamy squash sauce. You can actually make all of these components ahead of time, and then assemble and do the final bake on the day of Thanksgiving which can be convenient if you’re making a lot of other dishes.

First things first, you’ll want to make the beans a day in advance if possible so that they’re able to marinate. In an effort to support American Indian businesses, I used brown tepary beans in my recipe. Tepary beans are a small, savory and somewhat nutty flavored bean that has been farmed for thousands of years in the deserts in the American South-West. The tepary beans you can find today are almost all grown by Ramona Farms, where the Akimel O’Odham tribe has been farming for centuries. If you are able to support Ramona Farms, you can buy her tepary beans here (which are delicious- you won’t be disappointed). If that isn’t something you can manage, you can substitute another small bean or even green or black lentils.

Marinating tepary beans is easy. You’re going to want two cups of rehydrated beans, and you’re going to place them in a jar with finely chopped bell pepper and shallot. I used a mix of two different colors of bell pepper to make it just a little more pretty. A little bit of fresh parsley is also a great addition here. We’re going to marinate the beans in a little bit of oil and vinegar, but before we pour that in the jar we’re going to use the oil to extract some flavor from the spices. By heating your oil in a small skillet and adding the fennel seeds, sage leaves, garlic, thyme, and tarragon you’ll be able to boost those flavors a little more. Pour the hot oil into the jar along with the apple cider vinegar. Mix it around a bit – I do that by gently inverting the jar a few times – and then place the jar in the fridge and let it sit. As the flavors sit together they’ll meld and become even more delicious.

Making the masa pizza dough is basically the same as making any other pizza dough. You’re going to use yeast activated with a little warm water and some sugar. Make sure you’re not using boiling water as that will kill the yeast. Once your yeast has bloomed, add to it the remaining ingredients and start to mix until you are able to kneed. Because of the masa the dough will feel drier and be a little harder to work than a typical pizza dough. Don’t worry too much about that, just kneed it until it feels smooth and then let it rise. I have started rising my dough in my instant pot on the yogurt setting. It typically cuts my rise time to about three quarters or half of the time otherwise. Once your dough has risen punch it down. You’ll find that now the masa is hydrated, the dough should be a lot softer and easier to work. At this point you can shape your dough into your desired flatbread shapes and sizes. This recipe makes enough for four large portions, or more smaller portions. I chose to divide the dough into two flatbreads, mostly for practicality because I was working on a smaller pizza stone and one flatbread probably would not have fit. You’re going to par bake your crust at a high temperature for about 10 minutes. If you are making the crust ahead of time, stop at this point and let it sit in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble and do the final bake.

The squash sauce is simply a matter of roasting your squash, and then scooping the cooked squash into a blender along with the other ingredients and blending until smooth. Make sure you give it a taste, and adjust all the seasonings and flavors to your tastes, but really you can’t go wrong here. The squash sauce can also be made several days in advance if desired.

The final step is putting everything together to create your beautiful marinated tepary bean flatbread. Spread the masa crust with a generous layer of squash sauce. Top that with a layer of your marinated beans. I added a few little spots of squash sauce on top and almost blended it into the beans to be extra artsy, but that might have been a little extra. Once assembled do a final bake for another 10 minutes to bring all of those flavors together and add a touch more golden brown to the crust. You can garnish with fried sage leaves, or finely chopped parsley. The only thing left to do is slice, serve, share, and enjoy.

Three Sisters Flatbreads with Marinaded Tepary Beans

Ingredients

For the Marinaded Beans

2 cups cooked brown tepary beans
½ large bell pepper
1 medium-sized shallot
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbsp. fennel seeds
5 fresh sage leaves
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried tarragon
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
½ tsp. salt

For the Dough

1 tbsp. sugar
2 ¼ tsp. instant yeast
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup masa harina

For the Squash Sauce

½ butternut squash (about a pound)
2-3 cloves garlic
Olive oil, for cooking
1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 tbsp. miso paste
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. dried sage
½ tsp. smoked paprika
¼ tsp. nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Start with the beans, as they’re best when left to marinade for at least a few hours, ideally overnight or longer. Chop the bell pepper and shallots into very small pieces, and finely chop the parsley. Add them to a large jar, along with the tepary beans. Add the olive oil to a small skillet and heat until hot. Add the fennel seeds and cook until fragrant. Add the sage leaves, and cook for another minute or so. Turn off the heat and add the garlic, thyme, and tarragon to the oil. Once it has quieted down, add the oil with all the spices to your jar of beans, along with the apple cider vinegar and salt. Top with a lid and gently invert a few times to mix it up and place in the fridge until needed.
The crust can also be made up to a day in advance. Start by combining the yeast and sugar in 1 cup of warm water and let it sit for around 10 minutes until the yeast blooms. Once bloomed add the oil and salt, give a quick stir, and then add the masa and all-purpose flour. Use a wooden spoon and then your hands to bring the dough together. Flip onto a clean counter, lightly floured counter. Kneed until smooth and even. Lightly oil the mixing bowl and add the ball of dough. Cover with a clean cloth, and let sit in a warm place for about an hour until doubled in size to rise. If you are making this in advance, follow step 4 and complete the par baking of the crust.
To make the sauce, pre-heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Add the squash, seeds removed, to an oiled baking sheet, and tuck the garlic cloves underneath. Roast until easily pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes. Once roasted, allow the squash to cook enough to handle, and scoop the flesh out into a blender. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and blend until smooth- you can add a tablespoon or two of water if needed to help it blend easily.
Par-bake your crust by preheating the oven to 475°F (250°C). After the dough has risen, punch it down to remove air bubbles. Shape the dough as desired- I made two crusts each 6x12 inch rectangles. Use a fork to prick small holes across the entire surface of the crust to prevent large air bubbles when baking. Place in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, remove, and allow to cool.
To finish the dish, lower the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C). Spread a generous layer of the squash sauce over the masa crust. Add a layer of the marinaded beans on top of that. Bake for a further 10 minutes, to really meld the flavors together. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley or fried sage leaves, and serve.

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