Sheep's feet and stuffed tripe

The French, as well as many other cultures, make an effort to not waste any part of an animal. That is a very responsible attitude, although it stemmed from the fact that in the olden days the good meat would go to the king and the nobles, and poorer people had to become creative and make due with what was left over. Joke’s on the nobles, as some of those “leftovers” make fantastic, delicious, and nutritious dishes. In “A Bite-Sized History of France: Gastronomic Tales of Revolution, War, and Enlightenment”, Stéphane Hénaut and Jeni Mitchell talk about the ”offal gastronomy” and the annual food festival sponsored by the Frairie des Petits Ventres (Brotherhood of the Little Bellies), where one can taste a wide range offerings such as the girot sausage (made with lamb’s blood), sheep’s testicles sautéed in garlic, or the petits ventres (“sheep stomachs stuffed with parts of the animal you’d rather not think about”. Not your typical North American supermarket offering. Many of my Canadian and American friends probably got squeamish just reading about those dishes. Which is too bad, as they are missing delicious culinary fair.

We are in Aix-en-Provence right now, and for lunch today we tried one of the Provençal specialties: sheep’s feet and stuffed tripe. Wow! The most tender meat, flavourful, and delicious, in a thick tomato-based sauce with steamed potatoes done to perfection. My tastebuds were in heaven. Lesson: do not discard any unknown food before trying. You will get rewarded.