Philadelphia Pepper Pot

Wash tripe under cold running water. Spread pieces on the counter or cutting board and rub both sides thoroughly with several teaspoons of salt. Rinse off the salt. Place tripe in a medium (3-quart) saucepan and add salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a gentle boil and cook 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. When cool cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Reserve. Heat butter in a deep (4 to 5 quarts) kettle or casserole. When butter begins to foam, add chopped onions, the whole studded onion, celery, carrots, leek and green pepper. Cover and sweat over medium low heat for 10 minutes. Do not brown. Pour stock and water into the kettle and add the veal bone and reserved tripe cubes. Add garlic, hot chilies, bay leaf, marjoram, basil, thyme, salt if desired, and black pepper. Simmer 1 1/2 hours. At the end of this period, lift out the veal bone and pick off what meat there is. Cut meat into bite-size pieces and return to the soup. Discard the bone and whole onion. Mix together cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Add it to the soup and stir to blend. Add parsley and diced potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. When soup is cooked, but still keeping it over the heat, add evaporated milk or cream. Swirl the butter into the soup at the moment of ladling it into a heated tureen or individual bowls. Garnish with snipped parsley. Makes 6 servings.