-
1
Place the lamb's feet and tripe squares in separate pots of cold, well-salted water. Bring each to the boil, cook for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold running water. The water must run clear and the pieces must show no trace of grey foam before proceeding.
-
2
Combine the finely chopped parsley, garlic, diced petit salé, and black pepper in a bowl. This is the persillade filling. Lay each blanched tripe square flat. Place one level tablespoon of filling at the centre. Roll the square tightly into a compact parcel and secure with kitchen string or a small skewer. Each paquet must be firmly closed — any looseness will cause it to unravel over the seven-hour braise. The parcels should feel taut and uniformly cylindrical.
-
3
In a large heavy casserole set over medium heat, sweat the diced onion, carrot, and celery until softened and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. The vegetables should be fragrant and yielding but not browned.
-
4
Deglaze with the 500 ml of white wine, scraping the base of the pot clean. Add the crushed tomatoes, bouquet garni, orange peel if using, and enough water to barely cover the contents. Nestle the blanched lamb's feet and all the paquets into the pot in a single, closely packed layer. The liquid line should sit just at — never above — the surface of the meat. The aroma at this point should be bright with wine and tomato acidity.
-
5
This is where the dish lives or dies: cover the casserole tightly and transfer to an oven set at 140 °C. The dish must cook, undisturbed, for a minimum of seven hours. No higher temperature, no shorter time — collagen conversion cannot be accelerated. At seven hours, lift the lid: the feet must be entirely fall-apart-tender and the sauce must coat the back of a spoon in a thick, silky film without the addition of any thickener. If the sauce remains thin, return the pot, uncovered, to the oven for a further 30 minutes and check again.
-
6
Remove the bouquet garni and orange peel. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning. The paquets should be plump and intact, the filling visibly perfuming the sauce when one is pressed lightly with a spoon. Serve directly from the casserole, or — as the dish improves markedly — allow it to cool, refrigerate overnight, lift the set gelatin-rich sauce from the surface, and reheat gently the following day.