Pepper Pot Soup

             
Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds honeycomb tripe
Sprinkles of salt for rubbing
Water
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 whole onion, studded with 3 cloves
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup peeled, quartered and thinly sliced carrots
1 leek (about 1 cup), washed, sliced, including tender green part
1/2 cup diced green pepper
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1 small meaty veal knuckle
1 garlic clove, diced
2 to 3 teaspoons dried hot red chilies, crushed, or chili powder to taste
1 bay leaf, crushed
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 cups 1/2-inch-diced potatoes
1 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream
1/3 cup butter for swirling into soup when served
1/2 cup snipped parsley for garnish


Instructions
Wash tripe under cold running water. Spread pieces on the counter or cutting board and rub both sides thoroughly with several teaspoons of salt. Rinse off the salt. Place tripe in a medium (3-quart) saucepan and add salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a gentle boil and cook 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. When cool cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Reserve.

Heat butter in a deep (4 to 5 quarts) kettle or casserole. When butter begins to foam, add chopped onions, the whole studded onion, celery, carrots, leek and green pepper. Cover and sweat over medium low heat for 10 minutes. Do not brown.

Pour stock and water into the kettle and add the veal bone and reserved tripe cubes. Add garlic, hot chilies, bay leaf, marjoram, basil, thyme, salt if desired, and black pepper. Simmer 1 1/2 hours. At the end of this period, lift out the veal bone and pick off what meat there is. Cut meat into bite-size pieces and return to the soup. Discard the bone and whole onion.

Mix together cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Add it to the soup and stir to blend. Add parsley and diced potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

When soup is cooked, but still keeping it over the heat, add evaporated milk or cream. Swirl the butter into the soup at the moment of ladling it into a heated tureen or individual bowls. Garnish with snipped parsley.

Yield: 6 servings