Some swear by tripe and onions, but…

I shared this about a year ago… I still haven’t actually made this recipe, but only because the family say they will leave home if i do!

Tripe is no longer a popular and economical ingredient… I’m not sure if it is even economical any more as I think probably only speciality butchers would sell it. Tripe is the edible lining of a cow’s stomach and it is certainly not to everyone’s taste. My mother hated it but my dad would cook it in milk with onions and I’d share it with him, eating it with bread and butter.
The only other way I have eaten it is once when I was in France; the night before friends and I had been out for a most magnificent meal and to be honest we actually did drink a lot of wine, and probably some brandy too… I actually don’t really remember. The following day we were all feeling very delicate, very very delicate… we sat in a café wondering if we could even face coffee, when I happened to glance at the menu and tripes á la môde du Caen was the dish of the day. For some reason, maybe guided by angels I decided I fancied it; the dish arrived and my friends nearly passed out but I tucked in and within a few minutes I felt distinctly better, and by the time I had finished the bowl I was perfectly fine! I have to say none of my friends took my advice as regards the tripes, and they did suffer quite a lot that day… but I was on top form!

I mention tripe because in the National Mark Calendar of Cooking, it is one of the recipes for May:

Casserole of Tripe
Some swear by Tripe and Onions; but for something equally delicious but a little more savoury let us commend this to them.

• cooked tripe cut in strips
• ½ lb mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 cups tomato puree
• 1 oz flour
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• olive oil
• vinegar
• butter

1. mix the olive oil and vinegar and pour over the tripe, leave for 1 hour,turning a couple of times
2. fry the onion in the butter until golden, add the mushrooms and cook for a further ten minutes
3. take the onions and mushrooms from the pan but keep the oil butter and juices, stir in the flour, gradually adding the purée and stirring until it thickens
4. butter a casserole dish, put in half the drained tripe, add a third of the tomato sauce, all the mushrooms and onion
5. add another third of the sauce half of the breadcrumbs
6. put in the remaining tripe, cover with the last third of the tomato sauce, and the rest of the breadcrumbs
7. dot with butter and bake in the oven for about twenty minutes until the top is golden brown