Mark Hix recipe: Wedding soup

Serves 4-6

Wedding tradition: Tripe soup (Jason Lowe)

I'm not sure if British wedding guests would welcome a bowl of tripe soup, but in Poland it's the tradition. We also had this at Stary Dom and I'm a big fan of tripe, especially in a rich broth like this. Try to use the unbleached tripe, which sadly a lot of butchers don't do these days, but Asian supermarkets often have it fresh or frozen.

2tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
4 medium onions, peeled, halved and diced
A few sprigs of thyme with the leaves removed
A good knob of butter
1tbsp flour
300-400g unbleached tripe, cut into 3-4cm chunks
150ml white wine or cider
1½ltrs hot chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan and cook the onions with a lid on for 3-4 minutes, stirring every so often on a low heat and without colouring.

Add the butter and flour and stir well, then gradually add the wine and chicken stock to avoid lumps forming.

Add the tripe, season and simmer gently for about 1½ hours, skimming regularly or until the tripe is tender. Check the seasoning and adjust the consistency if you wish.