An Old Family Holiday Recipe

There are certain things that transport you back in time to Christmases long ago, to family gatherings of your childhood. Nothing does that better than an old family Christmas recipe. This one I learned from my mother, who in turn learned it from my grandmother, and so on. An old Spanish dish which we prepare for the holidays. Here is our old family recipe for Callos. If you are not squeamish.

Ingredients: *

*quantities are as found in a U.S. grocery

2 packs ox tripe
2 packs ham hock
1 can or pack chorizo de bilbao, diced. Substitute other chorizo (not as good) if you cannot find this, but DO NOT do without.
2 cans garbanzos. Discard liquid.
2 cans tomato sauce or 1 small can tomato paste
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced

Place tripes and ham hocks in large pot, with enough water to cover. Boil in low to med heat until soft, when ham hock meat is beginning to fall off the bone. Strain and save stock.

Remove ham hock meat from bone and cut into approx 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes. Slice tripes thin, about 1 inch long by 1/4 inch stips.

In a new pot, saute garlic and onion in olive oil. Add red pepper.

Add tripes and ham hock, tomato sauce. Add in enough stock to cover meat. Salt and pepper.

Boil in low heat until the tripes are soft. I mean melt-in-your mouth buttery soft. If you press a stip against the side of the pot with a fork, it should cut easily without having to jerk the fork back and forth. This is crucial. Tripes are not good chewy.

Add chorizo, garbanzos and cook another 5-10 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste. I usually add one bullion cube (in place of the salt), and a dash of tabasco.

By this time, the callos stew should be thick. If you want it thicker, add a little bit of corn starch or toasted flour if you prefer, and sprinkle a little olive oil on top. You can add your choice of herbs, but we have always prepared it as is.

Best (for me) served in a soup bowl with your choice of bread. In fact, I will go heat myself up some leftover right now. Enjoy!