Catholic Recipe: Shorba

Also Called: Puree of Lamb Khartoum

In Sudan, if you are an important guest, a sheep will be slaughtered in your honor. Many dishes will then be prepared, each more delicious than the last. Favorite meats are lamb and chicken. Rice is the staple starch. Breads are the Arabian Khubz, but the Sudanese also make Kisra, an omelette-like pancake which is part of the Sudanese dinner. Vegetables, fresh and cooked, are of infinite variety. As in most Arabic countries, fruits are peeled and cut in small slices for dessert, but the Sudanese also love sweets and every housewife knows how to make Creme Caramela. You will like their unusual teas which can be made quite simply. But if you prefer to serve coffee, make it a demitasse.

This is a most interesting soup. It is a medium puree sparkled with peanut butter and lemon. The Sudanese usually add rice but it is omitted here since rice is served with the entree. Three cloves of garlic may be a bit strong so start with one clove and test the soup as it cooks to see if you would prefer a more penetrating garlic flavor.

DIRECTIONS

In a 6-quart saucepan combine 3 Ibs. lamb bones in 2 quarts water add 2 tsp. SALT and simmer for one hour.

Add: onions, carrots, cabbage, string beans and garlic. Simmer for 1 hour until vegetables are thoroughly cooked. Remove lamb bones and put the mixture through a sieve or food mill. Add: 4 Tbs. peanut butter thinned with juice of 1 lemon and rice. Correct the seasoning with salt, pepper, etc. Serve in soup bowls, about 1 cup per portion.