One of the best-selling dishes in traditional restaurants. It is said that Romania is divided in two: those who love tripe soup and those who don’t want to hear about it.
It is a dish that came to us through the Ottoman tradition and it is more common in the east and south, particularly in Bucharest. It is different from similar dishes that we find in Balkan or Turkish restaurants. The secret of a good tripe soup lies in the slow boiling of the beef bones and the use of fresh, well-cleaned beef tripe. The taste is enriched with a mixture of cream and egg yolks, grated and blanched carrot, garlic and slices of pickled Romanian pepper. Served with bread, fresh or pickled chilli and extra sour cream. Vinegar is usually added to taste when served.
In Romania (but not exclusively), it is said to be an excellent hangover cure. Tripe soup has come to be loved by Romanians mainly because beef tripe was not rationed during communism and so tripe soup was made much more frequently. Romanians generally don’t make it at home – because it takes a long time to prepare – and so they eat it out. There are dozens of different brands of canned tripe soup in shops.
Beef tripe is a high-protein, low-calorie ingredient.
Credit photo: Tripe Soup © Pfongabe33 | Dreamstime.com; | Tripe Soup © Alex Moise | Dreamstime.com
