Patsas: Greek Easter Tripe Soup

Patsas (tripe soup) is a common dish in Greek cuisine and although widely considered to be a hangover remedy, there are also those who simply prefer to start their day with this dish. The Greek version, called patsás (πατσάς), may be seasoned with red wine vinegar and garlic (skordostoubi), or thickened with avgolemono. Our version uses pork trotters however other versions sometimes use calf feet with the tripe.

Back in the day, patsas was cooked for many hours in the traditional neighbourhood wood-fired oven. The cooking vessel would be placed in the oven late at night and removed at 5am the next morning, giving the dish the delicious taste of a slow-cooked meal.

Patsas can be found in patsatzidika and mageiria (restaurants specialising in home-style cooking) throughout Greece. When ordering patsas, be sure to specify whether you want it hontrokommeno (with thickly-cut meat) or psilokommeno (with finely-sliced meat). 

Greek Easter Tripe Soup Recipe

Ingredients

For the soup:

1.5 kg tripe, chopped

4 legs of pork (trotters)

3.5 litres of beef broth

Oregano

1 large onion

3 bay leaves

10 cloves garlic

peer, coarsley ground

salt and pepper powder

thyme

For the egg and lemon sauce:

2 whole eggs

juice of 2 lemons

1 cup of broth

Method 

• Blanch the tripe : Place tripe in a pot with water and let it boil for 20 minutes then drain and put back in the pot with the pigs' trotters 
• Wrap in a piece of thin cloth the garlic, oregano, thyme and crushed pepper and onion
• Take a piece of string and wrap one end to a parcel that you have created and attached the other end to the edge of the pot. Add the salt and pepper add the beef broth and
• Cook the tripe with broth of beef and herb parcel with spices for 2-3 hours 
• When cooked remove trotters and separate meat from the bone and cut  tripe into chunks. Place them back in the pot with the broth and boil for a further 10 to 15 minutes 
• Remove the parcel with spices
• In a blender or milk shaker add the eggs lemon juice and a cup of the broth
• Mix well until the liquid becomes white and frothy. Pour into the rest of the soup, stirring as you pour. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper and some crusty bread. Enjoy! 

The soup can be served without the egg and lemon sauce.

Serve with a dash of olive oil and black pepper.