Cuisine of My Ancestors: Native American
- venison
- wild turkey
- clams
- mussels
- fish (Namâhsak)
- sunflower seeds
- Jerusalem artichokes
- flint corn (Weeâchumuneash)
- squash (Mônashk8tashqash): winter varieties and pumpkin
- pole beans (Tutupôhqâmash): true red cranberry,
- wild onions
- wild garlic
- ground nuts
- cranberries
- maple sap / syrup
Sobaheg is the Wampanoag word for stew. To describe it simply, it’s a Three Sisters stew with meat. Three sisters companion planting (corn, beans, and squash) was standard agricultural practice for the Wampanoag, so to find all three ingredients in a stew isn’t a surprise. I added turkey, but Max Miller (Tasting History YouTube channel) has a video recipe using venison.
Like most stews, this one is easily adapted to seasonal ingredients. Corn and sunflower seed meals serve as thickeners, although ground nuts (hopniss) is mentioned as a thickener at the Plimoth Patuxet Museums website.
There are a number of recipes for this around the internet, and I suspect that originally, there was no set recipe for it. It was a matter of using what one had on hand. This one is something of a combination / adaptation.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry white beans (I used small red beans, soaked overnight)
- 1 cup coarse hominy grits
- 1 pound turkey meat, on the bone, with skin (I used 3 turkey wings)
- 12 cups Water
- 1 cup green beans, cut in 1″ sections
- 1.5 cups winter squash, cut in 1″ cubes (I used our sweet potato squash)
- 1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds, ground
- 1/4 cup chopped green or wild onion (I used a tablespoon dried onion flakes)
- fresh herbs as desired (I used sage)
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 cup clam juice or salt to taste (used 3/4 cup clam juice + 1 tbsp salt)
- Combine water, dried beans, grits, and turkey in a large pot and simmer until the beans are tender (about 2.5 hours). Stir occasionally to keep grits from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Skin and bone turkey, returning bite sizes pieces to the pot. Add the squash, green beans, onion and herbs. Simmer until tender.
- Add sunflower seed meal and clam juice. The clam juice is salty, so add a quarter-cup at a time and taste test with each addition. Adjust with salt to taste.
- Dan declared it a keeper. I was curious about the texture, since the thickeners are corn grits and sunflower seed meal. That made the texture was different from typical flour-thickened stews, but it was good. The flavor was excellent and I’ll make it again.
- It’s a one-pot meal, which is well suited to our lifestyle. Except for the clam juice, all the ingredients are locally available, so that’s a huge plus. We got quite a few good meals from it, but for just the two of us, halving the recipe would work too.
- Add more vegetables.
- I’m sure Dan would like it if I added more meat.
- Use my own cornmeal instead of the grits.
- Try it with hopniss next time, since it’s one of my perennial garden additions. It’s a thickener that lends itself to moist heat cooking methods.
- Omit clam juice. It’s a specialty item that I tried for authenticity, but didn’t add anything as far as I could tell.
- 1 cup cornmeal (I used home grown, home ground)
- 1/2 cup dried berries (I used the cranberries I dried last year)
- 1/2 cup crushed nuts or seeds (I used sunflower seed meal)
- Maple syrup to taste (I used about 2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 tsp salt (not in original recipe)
- Slightly boiling water (this water can be a broth from boiled greens)
Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix thoroughly. After mixing, slowly add a spoonful at a time of slightly boiled water. When the mix is thick enough to be sticky, shape round patties (about 3 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick). Return water to slight rolling boil, shape patties about 1-inch thick and 3-inches round. Drop carefully into simmering water, making sure they do not stick to the bottom. Turn them when they float to the surface. Boil for a total of about 30 minutes.
These can also be baked wrapped in fresh leaves and baked in coals and ashes.
- Suggestions for other dried berries included blueberries, currents, or raisins.
- Other suggestions for sunflower seed meal are walnut or hazelnut meal. I have pecans and chestnuts, so I’ll have to try those.
What did we think?
- Initially, I thought, okay, these are just cornmeal dumplings with fruit. And of course, they are, but they are very different from the wheat flour dumplings I make with chicken stew. I was surprised that they were cooked all the way through. For some reason, I expected them to be doughy in the middle, but they weren’t. I credit that to turning them after they rose to the top and simmering for the full 30 minutes. I’m thinking, though, that cooking these in coals would produce a much harder (dried out) bread.
- The cranberries added a strong zing of tartness. Without them, maple syrup probably wouldn’t be necessary. I produce neither cranberries or maple syrup, but I think these would be good without berries too. Dan would probably like them with raisins.
- I plan to try Puttuckqunnege again, boiled in a pot of greens. I think they would be really tasty using lambs quarter, which is a mild green. If using a stronger flavored green, like turnip greens, raisins in the breads would balance their flavor nicely.
Next up, our Irish meal.
Source: https://www.5acresandadream.com/2025/11/cuisine-of-my-ancestors-native-american.html
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