IROQUOIS SOUP (Fish Soup)
American Indian Recipe
Serving Size: 4
4 ea Large mushrooms, sliced
2 ea 10 1/2 oz cans beef consomme
2 tbl Yellow corn meal
2 tbl Minced parsley
1 clove Garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Basil
1 ea Onion, thinly sliced
Fresh ground pepper, dash
1/4 tsp Salt
1 lb Haddock fillets
10 oz Baby lima beans
1/3 cup Dry sherry (optional)
Place the mushrooms, consomme, corn meal, parsley,
garlic, basil, onion, pepper and salt in a large
saucepan, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add
haddock, lima beans, and sherry and simmer 20 minutes,
stirring occasionally, breaking haddock into
bite-sized pieces. Serve hot.
The Iroquois were blessed with clear, cool lakes and
sparkling streams, and both served up an abundance of
fish. Fish soup, or u’nega’gei, as the Iroquois
called it, was a favorite. One early recipe is
described, “Fish of any kind is boiled in a pot with a
quantity of water. It is then removed and coarse corn
siftings stirred in to make a soup of suitable
consistency.” When wild onions and greens were
available, they were usually tossed into the soup pot,
adding both color and flavor.