Sopa de mondongo

Ingredients

Tripe

• 1 kgbeef tripe
• juice of 3 limes
• coarse salt
• vinegar
• 1pig’s trotter, optional

Broth

• 3.5 litreswater
• 1onion
• 1 headgarlic
• 3bay leaves
• 1 tbsppeppercorns
• salt

Sofrito

• 2onions, chopped
• 1red pepper
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 3tomatoes
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tbspachiote or paprika
• 2 tbspoil

Roots and vegetables

• 500 gyuca, cassava, in chunks
• 2green plantains, in chunks
• 2corn cobs, in rounds
• 3carrots
• 2potatoes
• 1chayote, optional

To finish

• chopped coriander
• chopped mint, which Hondurans add
• lime wedges

To serve

• rice
• corn tortillas
• hot sauce

Directions

1. Rinse it under cold running water, going into every fold and pocket. Rub it hard all over with coarse salt and lime juice. Rinse, then repeat with more lime and salt, three or four times in total. Keep going until the tripe is pale and smells clean and faintly of lime.
2. Trim off any dark or fatty patches. Now blanch it: cover with cold water, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes and discard that water. Rinse the tripe and scrub out the pot. Cut the tripe into small strips or squares of about 2 cm.
3. Cut it small. Large pieces of tripe are unpleasant to work through and small ones take up the flavour of the broth. Return it to the clean pot with fresh water, the onion, garlic, bay, peppercorns and salt. Add the pig’s trotter if you are using it, which gives body from the gelatine. Simmer for 3 hours until the tripe is completely tender.
4. Cook it long. Undercooked tripe is rubbery and there is no shortcut except a pressure cooker, which does it in about an hour. Skim the surface periodically. Fry the onions and pepper in oil until soft, add the garlic, then the tomato paste and achiote.
5. Fry the paste and the achiote for a few minutes, which builds the colour and takes the raw edge off. Achiote gives the orange colour that a Honduran mondongo should have. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook down to a thick base, then stir it all into the pot. Add the yuca and green plantain first and cook 15 minutes. Cut the yuca into large chunks and pull out the woody central fibre if there is one.
6. Simmer until everything is tender, about 30 minutes more. Taste the broth and season it generously. Add chopped coriander and mint at the end, off the heat. Mint in a tripe soup surprises people and it is what makes the Honduran version distinct, so do not leave it out.
7. Serve it in large deep bowls with plenty of the vegetables and broth. Serve rice on the side, which people spoon in, along with tortillas and lime wedges.

Technique

• A pressure cooker reduces the tripe cooking to about an hour.
• Versions of mondongo are eaten across Latin America and each country has its own.
• Mint is characteristic of the Honduran and Nicaraguan versions.

Substitutions

• Pre-cooked tripe, which cuts hours off.
• Paprika in place of achiote, which gives less colour.

Variations

• With a pig’s trotter, for a richer broth.
• The Colombian version, with more potato and less root.
• With chickpeas added, as in Spain.

History

A weekend and hangover soup across Honduras, using offal in the Spanish callos tradition combined with local root vegetables.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sopa de mondongo?

Sopa de mondongo is a soup & stew from Honduras: tripe soup with yuca, plantain and corn in a rich broth. A weekend and hangover soup across Honduras, using offal in the Spanish callos tradition combined with local root vegetables.

How long does Sopa de mondongo take to make?

Sopa de mondongo takes 1 hr of preparation and 3 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Sopa de mondongo?

Yes, within limits. Pre-cooked tripe, which cuts hours off. Paprika in place of achiote, which gives less colour.

What is the most important thing to get right in Sopa de mondongo?

Simmer until everything is tender, about 30 minutes more. Taste the broth and season it generously. Add chopped coriander and mint at the end, off the heat. Mint in a tripe soup surprises people and it is what makes the Honduran version distinct, so do not leave it out.