Guatita con Salsa de Maní

Method

1. 01

   Clean and scour the tripe8 min

   Lay the honeycomb tripe on a cutting board. Squeeze the lime halves over both sides and rub vigorously with 30 g coarse salt for 2 minutes, scouring the surface mucus away.

   Rinse thoroughly under cold running water, then repeat once more, until it is clean and smells neutral.

   Squeeze lime over both sides of the tripe and scrub vigorously with 30 g coarse salt for 2 minutes. Rinse thoroughly under cold running water; repeat once until clean and neutral-smelling.

2. 02

   Boil the tripe tender1 hr 30 min

   Put the cleaned tripe in a 6-quart pot with 2 litres water, the quartered onion, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 Tbsp salt and 1 tsp cumin.

   Bring to a boil, skim any foam, and simmer gently 1 hour 30 minutes — or 35 minutes under high pressure — until the tripe yields easily to a fork.

   Drain, cool slightly, and cut into neat 1.5 cm cubes. Reserve 500 ml of the cooking broth.

   Cover tripe with 2 L water; add quartered onion, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 Tbsp salt and 1 tsp cumin. Boil, skim, then simmer gently 90 minutes or pressure-cook on high 35 minutes until fork-tender. Reserve 500 ml broth; drain, cool slightly and dice 1.5 cm.

3. 03

   Cook the achiote refrito14–16 min

   Heat 60 ml achiote oil in a heavy 6-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced red onion, minced garlic and bell pepper, and sweat 8 to 10 minutes until soft and translucent.

   Add the chopped tomatoes, cumin, oregano, black pepper and 1 tsp salt, and cook down 6 minutes into a fragrant, glossy paste.

   Heat 60 ml achiote oil over medium heat. Sweat diced onion, minced garlic and pepper 8–10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add tomatoes, cumin, oregano, black pepper and 1 tsp salt; reduce 6 minutes into glossy paste.

4. 04

   Assemble the stew with potatoes15 min

   Add the diced tripe and the raw diced potatoes, stirring to coat them in the hot refrito.

   Pour in the 500 ml reserved tripe broth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to medium-low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes until the potatoes are half-tender.

   Stir diced tripe and raw diced potatoes into the hot refrito. Add 500 ml reserved broth; bring to a boil over medium heat, then cover and simmer over medium-low for 15 minutes until potatoes are half-tender.

5. 05

   Simmer the peanut sauce12–15 min

   Whisk the ground peanut paste into the pot and turn the heat to low.

   Simmer uncovered 12 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently along the bottom with a flat wooden spoon so the peanuts do not catch. The potatoes soften completely, shedding starches that bind with the peanut fat into a thick, creamy golden stew.

   Stir in extra milk if it is too thick, then stir in the chopped cilantro.

   Grind peanuts smooth with 250 ml warm milk; whisk into the stew. Simmer uncovered on low 12–15 minutes, frequently stirring the bottom to prevent sticking, until potatoes are fully soft and sauce creamy. Thin with extra milk if needed; add cilantro.

6. 06

   Serve

   Ladle generous mounds of steaming guatita into shallow bowls alongside a dome of yellow achiote rice.

   Garnish with fresh avocado slices and a spoonful of crisp red onion curtido. Serve hot.

   Serve generous portions of hot guatita in shallow bowls beside yellow achiote rice. Garnish with fresh avocado slices and a spoonful of crisp red onion curtido.

7. 07

   Sensory cues of doneness

   • Visual: a thick, golden-yellow stew with tender honeycomb tripe cubes and soft potato dice, ribboned with orange achiote oil.
   • Auditory: thick, slow-bubbling murmurs on low heat, with no thin liquid splashing.
   • Olfactory: roasted peanuts, toasted cumin, sweet stewed onions, garlic and tender savoury beef.

   Check for tender honeycomb tripe and soft potato cubes in a thick golden-yellow sauce streaked with achiote oil. Keep bubbles slow and thick, with aromas of roasted peanuts, cumin, onion and garlic.