TRIPE WITH TOMATOES

Steps:

• Cleaning and Preparing Tripe: Inspect the tripe for cleanliness. Because tripe is made from the stomach of the cow, it can contain remnants of the cow's last meal, which you do not want to eat. Tripe is sold at butchers' shops in multiple varieties, "green," "cleaned," and, most commonly in North America, "bleached." Each variety of tripe requires different cleaning procedures, so it's important to know which of the following types of tripe you are working with before you start: Green tripe is the stomach lining basically unchanged from the way it came out of the cow. As its name implies, it has a greenish or grayish color. It needs to be thoroughly emptied and cleaned before cooking (see below). Cleaned tripe is tripe that has been rinsed and cleaned to remove the stomach contents. It's lighter in color and requires less preparation on your part in terms of cleaning and rinsing. Bleached (or "Blanched") tripe is tripe that has been cleaned, then soaked in chlorine to kill germs, giving it a very pale color. It's the cleanest type of tripe you can buy, but, unfortunately, it must be rinsed several times to remove the strong chlorine odor and taste.
• Clean if necessary: Depending on the condition of your tripe, the precise cleaning process of your tripe will vary. Tripe from most butcher's shops should already be cleaned, but if yours isn't or you've opted for organic, untouched tripe, you can clean the tripe in your kitchen with a few household ingredients: Rub the tripe with rock salt, loosening any small undigested bits (or "grit"). Rinse thoroughly with cold water. If necessary, use a clean toothbrush for hard to reach places. By doing this, you empty the stomach lining of any remnant pieces of partially digested food. Repeat until you see no more grit. Soak the tripe for one hour in a dilute solution made by mixing a tablespoon or two of hydrogen peroxide with enough water to cover the tripe (turning and squeezing the tripe occasionally). Hydrogen peroxide is a disinfectant and a bleaching agent. Discard the hydrogen peroxide solution and rinse the tripe thoroughly several times with water (squeezing as you do so). Trim edges that still appear unclean. The resulting tripe should be free from any obnoxious odor. After soaking, scrape the interior of the tripe with a knife to remove the inner membrane. Stomach lining is a complex tissue, parts of it are good to eat, but other parts aren't. The interior membrane should be removed if it hasn't.
• Cut the tripe into a uniform thickness: Raw tripe can vary significantly in thickness across its length. Unfortunately, varying thickness in a piece of tripe can cause it to cook unevenly. Lay your piece of tripe flat and carefully look it over; if you see any sections that are particularly thick, use a sharp knife to make a "butterfly" cut, halving the thickness.
• Cut tripe into strips and parboil. Parboiling is process where a food is first boiled by itself to prepare it for cooking in another dish. Use a sharp knife to divide the tripe into thin strips or squares. Gather the strips and toss them into a pot of boiling salted water (2 Tbsp of salt per litre of water). Boil for 15-30 minutes. When you're done, discard the water and rinse the tripe. After boiling, tripe should be noticeably softer; it's now ready to cook in a variety of dishes. Be sure to wash your hands after handling raw tripe, even if you've already cleaned it meticulously.
• Cut parboiled tripe into two inch pieces. Brown the onions and garlic lightly in oil, remove the garlic and toss out.
• Add the fresh tomatoes which are cut up, and the herbs: cook about 10 minutes. Add the tripe and cook an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Serve very hot
• Note: Most tripe sold in the USA is cleaned prior to sale...(steamed).