Rdale Students Enjoy Wojapi: A Taste of Native American Tradition

Occasionally throughout the year Rdale Nutrition Services offers menu items that reflect the cultures of its students and their families. Earlier this week students were served Wojapi, a Native American berry sauce, with its Brunch for Lunch menu at elementary schools. Students dipped their whole grain pancakes in the Wojapi, a delicious sauce enjoyed by Native Americans for centuries and containing a variety of berries. Lakeview Elementary had the honor of taste-testing the menu a year ago. Laura Torkelson (Ojibwe), Nutrition Services manager at Lakeview, helped develop the recipe.

Serve it on pancakes or French toast, with beef or chicken, or instead of cranberry sauce with holiday turkeys or ham. It's easy to make for your own table, and offers a taste from some of the peoples represented in our schools. Here is a version from the First Nations Development Institute:

Wojapi

• 4 cups blueberries or chokecherries (or other berries), fresh or frozen
• 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot
• Maple syrup
• ¼ cup water

In a saucepan, simmer berries and water over low heat, stirring occasionally. (If using fresh berries, you may need more water to keep them from scorching.)

Once the berries are broken down into a sauce, spoon out some sauce and whisk in the thickener.

Fresh berries should need 1 tablespoon, frozen might need 2 tablespoons thickener.

Whisk until completely dissolved, then add back to the rest of the sauce.

Sweeten to taste with maple syrup.

Serve on cornbread or ice cream, or with roast meat.

Another recipe for the holiday season, or anytime, comes from Sean Sherman’s The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen:

Puffed Manoomin Wild Rice

• 1 T. sunflower oil
• 1 c. wild rice, rinsed
• Pinch of salt

Pat the rice with a clean cloth or paper towels so that it’s thoroughly dry. Heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat. When the pot is hot, add the oil and wild rice. Cover the pan and shake vigorously to coat the wild rice thoroughly. Reduce the heat to medium and continue shaking until you can hear the rice popping. Sprinkle the rice with a little salt before serving.