Hamburgers are considered all-American but on a deeper level, what’s more American than the food eaten by the continent’s native peoples? In The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, Pine Ridge-born chef Sean Sherman (with help from food writer Beth Dooley) goes back to the roots. He dispenses with fry bread, disdains such hybrids as “Indian tacos” and bans European imports from his kitchen. No wheat flour here—or dairy products, sugar, pork or beef. Instead, he offers deviled eggs flavored with sumac, tamales made with braised bison or smoked duck and hominy cakes. Some of the ingredients will be unfamiliar to most cooks, including sunchokes, a root native to North America that can be steamed or sautéed. What’s wrong with fry bread? It was the staple during the hungriest days on the reservation—a recipe for diabetes and tooth decay that he sees as a symbol of oppression.
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