Portuguese lamb tripe

I’ve loved traditional afval from a very early age, but was hesitant to put lamb tripe on my menu at my first restaurant, Bar Bar Black Sheep, in Riebeek-Kasteel. Much to my surprise, tripe aficionados and lovers of nose-to-tail eating started rocking up at the restaurant and loved this easy, simple recipe I had developed for the town’s annual Mediterranean festival. Remember, cooking tripe takes time and you need to be in the right mood. I serve it with a green spiced rice with kale and loads of fresh parsley. Serves 4–6 Preparation time 20 minute Cooking time 35 minutes (pressure cooker) or 2½–3 hours (stovetop) Baking time 1½ hours

YOU NEED

• 2 kg whole lamb tripe and trotters, rinsed (I order mine from Deli-Co Farmstyle Butchery – delico.co.za – in Riebeek-Kasteel

• 1ℓ water with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice or white-wine vinegar, for rinsing

• 2ℓ prepared stock of your choice

• 25 ml olive oil

• 500 g bacon, diced

• 3 large onions, chopped

• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and grated into 25 ml olive oil

• 2 carrots, peeled and finely grated

• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cumin

• 3 cardamom pods, crushed

• 2 cloves

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 pinches of saffron

• 1 large piece (200 g) of chorizo, sliced

• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) leaf masala

• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) turmeric

• 1 x 400 g tin white beans, such as cannellini or butter beans

• handful of fresh parsley, chopped

• green spiced rice with kale, to serve

THIS IS HOW

Wash the tripe thoroughly in the water with the added lemon juice or vinegar. Drain and dry. Place the tripe in a pressure cooker, along with the stock, and cook for about 35 minutes. (You can also cook it in a large pot on the stovetop for 2½–3 hours.) Strain off the liquid and set the tripe aside. Return the liquid to the pot and reduce to a quarter. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the bacon and sauté until golden brown. Remove the bacon using a slotted spoon and set aside. Brown the onions in the same pan, then add the garlic, carrot, cumin, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, saffron, chorizo, masala and turmeric, and cook for about 20 minutes.

Return the cooked tripe to the pot with the reduced cooking stock and the spiceand-bacon mixture; bake in the oven for about 1½ hours. Remove from the oven and stir in the beans. Heat through and serve with chopped parsley and green spiced rice with kale.