Tripe Ragout

° Serves 6

Beef tripe (cow’s stomach) is available in most supermarkets. It looks like a honeycomb, and so is often called honeycomb tripe. It is a favorite of my daughter, Claudine, who likes it sautéed with onions and vinegar, as well as in stews or soups. No matter how tripe is prepared, it requires long cooking to become tender, tasty, and digestible. Cooking it in a pressure cooker, as I’ve done here, reduces the time by more than half and helps seal in the flavor. Because the tripe still takes a while to cook, however, I always prepare extra and freeze it in small containers for later use. Unfrozen, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Serve the ragoût with Basic Boiled Potatoes.

• 4 pounds honeycomb beef tripe
• 2 pig’s feet (about 1¼ pounds total)
• 3 or 4 onions (1 pound total), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 or 4 carrots (8 ounces total), peeled and cut into ½-inch dice (about 1½ cups)
• 1 leek, trimmed, washed, and cut into 1-inch slices
• 1 rib celery, rinsed and cut into ¼-inch dice
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed, peeled, and chopped coarsely (about 1½ tablespoons)
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 medium jalapeño pepper
• 1½ cups dry white wine
• 1½ cups Basic Chicken Stock or canned chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the tripe thoroughly under cool water and cut it into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Place the tripe and all the remaining ingredients in a pressure cooker and bring to a boil over high heat. Lock on the lid and bring up to the correct pressure according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Reduce the heat to very low and cook for 1¼ hours.

Release the pressure according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Remove the pig’s feet, remove the meat from the bones, and cut the meat into 1-inch pieces. Return the meat to the pot, reheat, and serve.

Note: To make the ragoût in a regular pot, place all the ingredients in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low and cook very gently, covered, for 3 hours. Then proceed as directed.