I love when health, comfort food, and decolonization go hand in hand.

This recipe is simple, delicious and a show-stopper you will be proud to bring to any community feast year-round.

The bright red of the fresh cranberries is what makes this an extra special seasonal treat for the fall to winter seasons.

Pzko, or Bison, has been vital to countless Native cultures for millennia. They are known to many nations by many names. This relationship is highly sacred to the people who have lived in relation with them for longer, and in more dynamic ways than colonial language could express. As we acknowledge that our Bison relatives were intentionally massacred to the brink of extinction by colonists, we also recognize that choosing to eat them supports the industry and revitalization efforts of Native peoples. We owe deep gratitude for their hard work to preserve the Bison, but no deeper gratitude is owed than to the nation of the Bison themselves for all that they give to us.

This is a super easy recipe that brings so much comfort through seasonal ingredients Native to Turtle Island. It’s a very special twist on a shepherd’s pie. With a filling of savory herbs, meat, and seasonal berries. Over a flaky pie crust, topped with thinly shaved sweet potatoes that will unleash your creativity and wow your relatives.

It’s hearty, it’s healthy, it’s simple, and it’s made from the most basic foods.

It’s full of that wow factor.

Play with this as you want, you can add more veggies, or omit any you don’t like. You can switch out the Bison for ground Turkey or Venison. It’s one of those dishes you can’t mess up.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 store-bought pie crust

Potato topping:

3 large orange Sweet potatoes peeled and sliced thinly. A mandolin is easiest but you can also achieve this desired effect with a standard kitchen knife, patients, and skill. (Option for color variance in the topping also add a white sweet potato prepared in the same way)
1 tbs bear grease (or any other lard or fat melted liquid form)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tbs maple syrup

Meat filling:

3/4 lbs ground Bison
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
3 garlic cloves (1 tbsp minced)
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup bone broth
1 1/2 tsp fresh dill chopped
1 1/2 tsp fresh sage leaves finely minced
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves minced extra fine
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1 tbsp bear grease (or chosen lard/fat duck lard is a great choice)
2 tsp corn starch
fresh rosemary sprigs, or fresh dill sprigs for garnish (get creative)

Directions

Peel and slice your sweet potatoes very thinly. Thin enough to bend easily without breaking, but not paper thin. Gather them into a mixing bowl, cover and set the bowl aside.

On the stovetop in a large skillet, mix your fat, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper: include any other hard veggies you choose to add at this stage. Sauté on medium-low heat until your onions begin to sweat. Add your finely chopped herbs. 1/2 of your cranberries. 1/2 of your blueberries. Stir cooking until some of the berries in the pan begin to break down and split.

Add your bone broth. Turn your heat up to medium. Allow the broth to simmer about 5-10 minutes. Turn your heat down to low and ad your 2tsp cornstarch, mix until incorporated. Your mixture should be hot enough to thicken with the cornstarch but you don’t want to keep cooking it until there’s no moisture.

Remove your mixture in the skillet from the heat and place it into a large bowl. Allow it to cool before adding your remaining ingredients.

Once cool, into the bowl add the remaining ingredients for your filling including the raw Bison meat and the remaining raw berries. The meat filling is going into your cold pie crust raw intentionally to allow you reaction in placing your sweet potatoes that will be cooked into place.

Fill your pie tin:

Take the premade pie crust out of the fridge or freezer. There’s nothing decolonial about a rich butter flaky crust made with white flour and butter someone else made for you, but it does save you a ton of labor. Remember, your rest, peace of mind, and joy are all radical acts too.

Fill the pie dish up a quarter of an inch from the top with your filling. The meat filling is going to shrink as it cooks.

This is where you get to be creative! Grab those lovingly prepared sweet potato slices and place them own on a flat surface on top of one another in groups of 3-5 slices of sweet potato at a time. Carefully pick up and transfer your line of sweet potatoes, together, and stand them upright in a row, pressing them down into your meat filling to hold them in place. Curve your lines of sweet potatoes as you go.

Gather 3-5 more slices of potato and repeat the process, then transfer to pie, placing against the first line and following your curve. Continue the process of fitting lines of potatoes.

You can stagger the lines and vary the curves.

You can create roses or flowers out of thin slices of sweet potatoes.

Continue with your design until the entire surface of the meat filling is covered. Fill in any open space with slices of potato. If you’re using white sweet potatoes for color variety, also alternate occasional rows of white sweet potatoes.

Cover your pie with aluminum foil and bake the pie at 350 degrees for 1 hour. The tin foil will ensure that your potatoes are steamed through and soft.

Remove the foil, and brush your potatoes gently with a layer of melted fat mixed with the salt. Then with maple syrup or honey for extra color and flavor. (Optional)

Return your pie to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes uncovered, or until the edges of your crust are golden brown.

Allow the pie to cool completely to set before serving. Garnish with springs of fresh dill or rosemary.

Enjoy!

Author, recipe, and photos by Aerin Stack

Instagram: @earth.medicine.mother