Tripes

I mentioned recently that I like tripe, and that having had it in a traditional British way cooked in milk with onions and plenty of pepper, I once discovered it was a miraculous cure-all, especially for hangovers! The particular and very effective recipe which proved it to me was for tripes á la mode de Caen, which apparently was a favourite of William the Conqueror… did he have hangovers? Apparently there are two ways of cooking it, a cream version (perhaps like the British way) and a recipe using cider which sounds more authentic. It should be cooked in a slow oven or in a slow-cooker, in a casserole, marmite, or a Nottingham jar – if ever i find a Nottingham jar, this is exactly the sort of recipe I will use it for!

I’m sure everyone who makes it has their own recipe, probably handed down from grand-maman, but here are a couple of recipes I found (although I felt sure when I had it there were tomatoes too, but maybe that was just how the lady who cooked it made it)

La version une:

2 lbs of tripe
1 calf’s foot
8 oz bacon
1lb onions
12 oz g carrots
1 bouquet garni
1 clove (I’d put more in, I can’t believe one clove will have any flavour at all in among everything else!)
1 small glass of brandy ( or should it be calvados?)
1¾pints of white wine – surely that should be cider? Chose what you prefer
plenty of salt and pepper

La version deux:

2 lbs of tripe
1 cow heel cut in two
4 cloves of garlic
8 oz onions
8 oz carrots
1½ oz butter
1 bottle of dry cider
generous fluid oz of calvados
herbs and spices – 2 cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme – again I would increase the amount otherwise they’d barely be evident!
salt
ground pepper

method:

cut the tripe into bite-sized pieces and slice the vegetables
layer the meat in a casserole or oven proof dish, with the vegetables
sprinkle with seasonings (herbs, spices, salt and pepper) and pour on the liquid (add more – or more water – or less according to your pot – you can always top up later)
cook on a low heat for at least six hours

Enjoy with plenty of crusty bread whether you have a hangover or not!