Tolia (soup)

Not to be confused with the Rossan city-province of Tolia.

Tolia is a type of soup common in T'vaqi. The dish is popular among lower-class mining families for being simple, palatable, and cheap to produce. The dish originated in the city of Qopi and quickly became popular among the city's large mining workforce.

Ingredients and preparation

Tolia soup begins with a simple bone broth. A generous amount of butter, lard, or other fatty ingredient is incorporated to the broth as it is heated. Milk or cream may also be added. Breadcrumbs or chunks of bread are added to the mixture for texture and additional sustenance. Roughly chopped meal radishes are added to the soup in addition to a meat of the cook's choice, usually whatever is cheap or on hand. While usually savory due to its bone broth base, some sweet versions of Tolia (typically involving the Mhoro fruit) are relatively common. The soup is usually served in a large metal bowl; at meals, a ladle is provided so that diners may serve themselves.

The soup's ingredients lend it a very rich, creamy texture, comparable to a stew. Tolia can be prepared in large quantities without much hassle and can be preserved for days, especially if no meat is added. These qualities have made the dish a staple food for many.

Confusion with Tolia

A political cartoon published in the Wavelength newspaper circa 54 PC. The caption reads "A man of soup indeed!"

After contact was made with other nations in 53 PC, many residents of T'vaqi experienced confusion over the politically relevant Rossan city-province also named Tolia. Many citizens, unfamiliar with foreign naming conventions, believed then-Dux Vincenzo Barozzo di Tolia to have been named after the soup. This added to a general lack of support for the Dux among T'vaqi citizens. Isolationist political cartoons commonly took advantage of the wordplay to negatively portray the Dux, his city of origin, and La Rossa as a whole. Over time, the word "Tolio" developed as a derogatory term for Rossan individuals living in T'vaqi. After the reelection of Giulio Moretti, the Tolia pun saw a decline in usage due to the Dux's name not allowing for the pun to be made. The offensive term Tolio remained, however, now largely separate from the name of the soup it originated from. In 77 PC, Grand Magister Adisa Aram passed a bill classifying Tolio as a first-tier invective, requiring its use in printed media to be limited.

While it was proposed that Tolia soup be made the national dish of the Nation of T'vaqi, this idea was ultimately rejected due to its association with foreign entities.