March 2008

Sullage and Golden Sa-Tarna Bread

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Quotes from the books:

Sullage -Soup carefully prepared from Sul, Tur-Pah, and blue roots of kes, with fresh herb seasonings and colored salts — all simmering in the finest of vulo stock thickened with verr cream. Served in traditional footed clay bowls, the earthenware is the only link to the Gorean peasant who originated this dish.

Kes Shrub - a shrub whose salty, blue secondary roots are a main ingredient in sullage. "Priest-Kings of Gor" p. 45.

Tur-pah - an edible tree parasite with curly, red, ovate leaves; grows on the tur tree; a main ingredient in sullage. " Priest Kings of Gor" p. 45.

Sa-Tarna - A grain, yellow in color. It is a staple of Gor. It is brewed into Paga. It is also ground and used to bake the Sa-Tarna Bread that is a staple food at every Gorean meal. The bread is a rounded, flat loaf that is yellow in color. It is marked, before baking, into six sections. "Raiders of Gor" p. 114
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Place a large cauldron of water over the fire to heat. Add to it 1 stone of suls, cut up into small, even-sized cubes. Then for base ingredients add 1 full head of Tur-Pah finely shreaded, 3 full kes roots (each should be at least 3 horts long) cut up fine; 2 spoonfuls of palm oil, 3 korts cut into small chunks, 2 tef of beans, 2 tef of peas, 1 spoon each of marjoram, pepper, yellow salt, and parsley.

Here is where your creativity comes into play. Sullage does not have a specific recipe. It is usually a mix of anything handy in the kitchen at the time. So be creative.

For this recipe we are also adding 3 gorean peaches cut up into small chunks, 1 mug of sa tarna flour to thicken the soup (omit if your Free prefers a soup to a stew), 2 tef of rence rice, and 1 mug of ka la na for color. Finally add, 3 mugs of chopped up bosk or verr meat (tabuk is too tough and will turn into leather when slow cooked in a stew). Simmer over a low heat until the meat is cooked through.

While the stew is simmering prepare the sa-tarna bread. In a large bowl place 1 spoonful each of palm oil and bosk milk, 1 and a half mugs of sa tarna flour, 1 mug of dark sa tarna flour, 1 spoonful of white salt, 2 spoonfuls of powdered bosk milk, 2 spoonfuls of ground blackwine beans, 2 spoonfuls of cocoa powder, and 1 spoonful of caraway seed. Next slowly begin to add 1 and a half mugs of warm water stirring constantly. Place the dough onto a clean workspace and dust well with sa tarna flour making sure you flour your hands well to absorb the oils on your skin. Use the heel of your hands to compress and push the dough away from you, then fold it back over itself. Give the dough a little turn and repeat. Put the weight of your body into the motion and get into a rhythm. Keep folding over and compressing the dough until it becomes smooth and slightly shiny, almost satiny. Check your recipe for specifics. The most common test for doneness is to press it with your finger. If the indentation remains, it's ready. Place the dough in the bread pan and mark it with the back of an ulo knife into 8 sections and then place it into the bread oven to bake.

When the stew and bread are done… place a thick wedge of the bread on a clean platter with a full bowl of the stew. You can garnish the plate with verr or bosk butter, a few slices of peach for sweetness, and a sprig of parsley.