Connoisseurs of the country's typical foods consider that the best tripe soup is originally from Masatepe, one of the nine municipalities of the Masaya department, where its preparation is very selective to create something extremely special compared to other soups in the country.
Mondongo is the intestine and belly of cattle... although the soup itself is an element brought by the Spanish to American lands, derived from their broths, soups, stews and so on... the use of beef belly is part of Spanish gastronomy.
The ingredients for Masatepe soup for a large 15-cup porra are: seven pounds of beef tripe with legs, a dozen sour oranges, two cabbages, two squash, four pounds of yuca, eight quequisques, four chayotes, six chiltomas, one pound of rice, five corn cobs, six white onions, 15 chilotes, achiote, enough garlic, a bunch of mint, and ground black pepper.
The rice is washed or soaked before cooking, and the tripe is also washed with enough water and sour orange juice, scraped with a knife to remove any thick parts and left to soak in sour orange juice for more than an hour.
This tripe -or towel- is well cleaned, cut into pieces to put them in a large bowl and onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, achiote, garlic are added and in this first cooking is where the delicious tripe soup takes on its flavor.
Then leave it on the fire for four hours until it boils, and then once it is soft, add the more solid vegetables such as corn, quequisque, chayote, chilote and yuca.
Wet rice is also blended and poured into the pot to thicken the soup. It is then placed on low heat, stirring frequently so that it does not stick. Then sour orange juice, salt and, if you like chili, add some Congo chili peppers and finally cabbage is added in parts.
To serve, cups of different sizes are used: large for those with a big appetite, medium and small for children or according to the client's taste, since some only ask for the soup with the tripe without the vegetables and they serve these separately on a plate. It can be accompanied with tortillas, avocado and curd.
Enjoy a delicious tripe soup in several popular dining rooms in Masatepe, its price ranges between 100 and 120 cordobas.
Since the soup is too thick, experts in vernacular gastronomy recommend a couple of drinks of liquor before eating the dish. Whether there is an excuse or not, it is easier to digest a tripe soup with a couple of “bujíazos” between the chest and the back.
Agricultural and artisan
Masatepe is located on the plateau of the white villages more than 50 kilometers from Managua on the highway to Masaya, passing through Catarina and then at the detour take the highway that goes to San Marcos - Carazo.
According to colonial documents, in 1548 the tribute of the people of Masatepe consisted of corn, beans, salt, honey, wax and chickens, reaffirming their status as an agricultural and artisan town.
