Yummy Innards

La Triperie Provençale in Les Halles of Avignon is a bastion of authenticity. Owned by Denis and Monique Decoster, Monique makes her own pieds and paquets, lamb's feet and little parcels of lamb's tripe, stuffed with chopped parsley, minced garlic, freshly ground black pepper and bits of salt pork. This dish is one of the glories of the Marseille cuisine repertoire. You can watch her rolling up the paquets behind the counter. You can make your own but doing so takes a lot of time and Monique's are delicious. But you need to make the sauce.

Sauté 200 grams of salt pork in some olive oil. Then add 450 grams of peeled, chopped onions. Cook slowly until the onions are soft. Add a thick coulis of tomatoes to cover, then put in 1 kilo of paquets and 6 prepared lamb's feet, sliced carrots, 4 whole cloves, 2  bay leaves, lots of chopped garlic and parsley - I prefer flat leaf - a handful of each and some freshly ground black pepper. Do NOT salt. Cover half way with dry white wine and cook covered very slowly for 6 hours. Add more wine if necessary. Serve with boiled potatoes. Serves 6.

If you look at the photograph you will see a lovely calf's head sitting next to the pieds and paquets. You can eat calf's head hot or cold. Monique sells the cooked calf's head in portions and then you can either buy her sauce gribiche, usually served with cold tête de veau, or make your own. There are several ways to make this sauce. Take the yolk of a hard boiled egg and mash it well, then add either minced garlic or shallots, minced parsley, capers (those from Italy preserved in salt are the best - just rinse them and dry them well before you use them), and chopped French cornichons. Add mayonnaise, vinaigrette or olive oil to taste, whisking well.