Blanquette de Tripe

tear of patience

During the last month I had planned a trip back home for a week, from Dublin we would drive to Galway and surprise my brother for his birthday. It had been fifteen years since i’d been to the west coast. I’d been recommended pubs Tig Cólli, Tigh Neachtain and The Crane. Tig is house. Neachtain is spoke as Knockton. I tried to find traditional food, there wasn't any tripe to be found but you could find what the west coast is famous oysters, lamb, fish and seafood. The lack of tripe leads me to sharing this Richard Olney recipe and encourages me to push forward with a plan I had during covid to travel to Cork and report on drisheen and tripe. Waiting for a publisher to pay my expenses as if I was working for Esquire in the mid nineties seems to not be working so i’ll save and get there and bring a full report here when I do. I was made redundant by Antiga Camponesa three days before my holiday leading me to consider my options for the future in terms of career. While I remain unemployed I would and should use my time to focus on writing but worry and bills cripple creativity. Here’s the recipe:

1 PIG FOOT salted for one day

900G HONEYCOMB TRIPE cut into 3 inch by 1/3 INCH strips

2 PEELED ONIONS one stuck with 3 cloves

3 MEDIUM CARROTS peeled and cut into 1 inch lengths

SEL GRIS AND WATER TO COVER

BOUQUET GARNI thyme, bay, parsley stalk, 1 celery tied up in the green of a leek

First:

Bring the tripe to a boil in cold water and salt, pour away the water and repeat two more times

Bring the foot to a simmer, remove the scum

Second:

Place all the ingredients in a pot and cook at a simmer for four to five hours; keep the lid slightly ajar and stir often, top up with water if needed.

Third:

Discard the onion and bouquet, remove the feet and when cool pick the meat from the bones and chop. Add back to the tripe pot.

Fourth:

the garnish:

1/2 TBSP BUTTER

450G SMALL ONION

1/2 TSP SUGAR

8 SMALL YELLOW POTATOES BOILED AND PEELED AT THE LAST MOMENT

the liaison:

2 EGG YOLKS, JUICE OF HALF A LEMON, PEPPER, NUTMEG

Fifth:

assembling the dish, set the table now, get the wine open, cut the bread, have a salad ready, put some music on

put the onions in a pan in a single layer, add the butter, sugar, pinch of salt and just enough water to not quite cover them. Bring to a boil and cover, cook for ten minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Remove the lid, raise the heat and cook at a light boil until the liquid disappears and the onions are glazed. Your potatoes should be cooked now so peel and add to the tripe pot along with the onions.

the liaison, in a small bowl, combine the ingredients and beat with a fork, stir in a few tbsp of the tripe liquid and then add everything to the pot, stir all the time with a wooden spoon. Return the pot to a low heat and stir slow without stopping util the cooking juices acquire a velvety texture. Do not let it boil.