Pepper Pot Soup

Photo: flickr user EraPhernalia Vintage (somewhat busy)

Ingredients

1 pound honeycomb tripe

1 veal knuckle*

5 1/2 quarts water

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon red pepper, diced

1 tablespoon green pepper, diced

1 tablespoon powdered thyme

6 peppercorns

4 potatoes, diced

2 bay leaves

3 whole cloves

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

2 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 tomatoes, peeled, cut up

4 onions, thinly sliced

1 piece pimento, cut fine

Preparation

Wash and scrub tripe thoroughly. Place in large kettle and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender. Simmer without boiling, that is the secret of making tripe tender. Drain and dice, ½ inch squares.

In the meantime place the veal knuckle in another kettle adding 1½ qts. of water and all ingredients except the potatoes. Simmer at least one hour, put in potatoes and simmer for another hour or until meat falls off the bone. Remove bone and take off all the meat.

Cut it into small pieces and together with the tripe put it back into the soup. Bring to a boil and the soup is ready to serve. This soup keeps well and can be reheated.