Saltquag Scrambled Eggs

A Reiver's Breakfast Staple

Saltquag scrambled eggs is what clansmen in The Reivers' Marshes traditionally break their fast with in the morning. There are many variations of the recipe from one community to another. Mirkwode claims to be the origin of the recipe and is said to have the best scrambled eggs in the region, but all other villages in the Marshlands dispute this.

Here is the traditional recipe as set out in Lady Willow Nayfro's famous cookbook from the area: 'Cooking with Swampwater'. The Lady Willow was herself native to Mirkwode, but she made an advantageous marriage with one of the Southern clan's wealthy merchants and moved to the big city. However, she never forgot her roots.

Saltquag is a type of swamp moss found in the marshy, shallow waters of Loch Morgunt. It is appreciated in cooking due to its distinctive, smoky flavour, which pairs particularly well with egg dishes.

Saltquag Moss is only found in Alven marshes and is usually quite tricky to buy away from the Morgunt Marshes. It is now exported to the main urban centres in Alven - Highfort and Hollyholm. Saltquag moss was always part of the Apothecary's goods and can still be found there if you come to be missing some in the kitchen.

Mirkwode Saltquag Scrambled Eggs
by Lady Willow Nayfro (Cooking with Swampwater)

Mirkwode Saltquag Scrambled Eggs A recipe from the Reivers' Marshes, where the white cranes, the Bright Mourners, streak the sky at dawn and the moss hums with old magic.

Goods:

• Four Marsh-Hen eggs (alternatively, Speckled Fen-gull eggs or Bristle-duck eggs easily available on the coasts or the southern clanlands)
• A pinch of dried saltquag moss
• A dash of bog pepper (or southern pepper)
• one knob of butter
• A handful of wild onion tips (of full-bodied yellows, but the flavour will be less robust)
• crumbled Mirkwode's world-renowned Rockinfour blue cheese (available in all good creamshops)
  
  
  

  The Steps

 

i - Over a moss-peat fire or smokeless coals, warm a blackened iron pan. Add the knob of bog butter until it melts. Be careful not to let it burn!

ii - Toss in the wild onion tips. Stir until they wilt slightly and shimmer like frogskin

 

iii - Beat the marsh-hen (or gull and duck eggs) adding a few strands of saltquag moss. The moss rehydrates and blooms into tiny green curls if soaked and beaten well enough. This is how you know the mixture is ready for the next step.

 

iiii - Pour the egg mixture into the pan, stirring slowly with a wooden spoon. Add the (bog) pepper as it begins to thicken.

b - Sprinkle with Rockinfour (or any other blue cheese). Be careful not to overdo the Rockinfour as it can overpower the light taste of the Saltquag.*

*Some recipes, mainly from Bleckmulh, advise to add knobs of Rockinfour to your scrambled eggs. I honestly think - and it's not because I'm from Mirkwode - that this will upset the delicate balance of your dish if you do so.

Interesting Tidbits

When I was a girl, my gran used to say that bards of old would feast on saltquag scrambled eggs before taking part in a poetic joust. It is said to keep your blood calm and sharpen your tongue in bardic debates and tourneys. There you have it!