Entree: Honduras – Southern Culinary Region – Sopa de Mondongo (Hearty Honduran tripe soup with root vegetables and plantain)

Food safety reminder: Follow safe food-handling practices and use a food thermometer to verify safe internal cooking temperatures.

Serving Size: 6

Approximate Time

Prep 30 min

Cook 2 hrs 50 min

Total 2 hrs 50 min

Ingredients

- 2 lb (900 g) cleaned beef tripe, cut into 1 in (2.5 cm) pieces
- 1 lb (454 g) pork hock or pig's trotters, cut into large pieces
- 10 cups (2.4 L) beef or chicken stock (or water)
- 1 medium white onion, chopped, about 6 oz (170 g)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, about 12 g
- 2 medium green plantains, peeled and cut into 1 in (2.5 cm) slices, approx. 12 oz (340 g)
- 1 lb (454 g) yuca (cassava), peeled and cut into 1 in (2.5 cm) pieces
- 2 medium carrots, sliced, about 8 oz (225 g)
- 2 ears fresh corn, cut into thirds, about 10 oz (285 g)
- 1/2 small head cabbage, coarsely chopped, about 8 oz (225 g)
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp (5 g) dried oregano
- 1 tsp (2 g) ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp (5 g) salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup (15 g) fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp (3 g) fresh culantro (recao), chopped (optional)
- Lime wedges for serving

Instructions

1. Rinse tripe under cold water and blanch: place tripe and pork hock in a large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil 5 minutes, drain and rinse to remove impurities.
2. Return tripe and pork hock to the pot; add stock (or fresh water), bay leaf, half the chopped onion, and 2 cloves of smashed garlic. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, and cook gently, partially covered, until tripe and pork are tender, about 2 to 2.5 hours.
3. While the tripe simmers, peel and prepare plantains, yuca, carrots, corn, and remaining onion and garlic.
4. After tripe is tender, remove pork hock pieces briefly and pull meat from bone if desired; return any meat to the pot. Add vegetable oil, oregano, cumin, remaining onion and garlic, carrots, plantain, yuca, and corn. Simmer until root vegetables are tender, about 25–35 minutes.
5. Add chopped cabbage in the last 5–7 minutes of cooking so it stays bright and slightly crisp. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
6. Stir in chopped cilantro and culantro just before serving. Serve hot with lime wedges for squeezing over each bowl.