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Florence culinary tour 2nd stage: "secondi"

Curiosities and recipes of famous Florentine street food: Lampredotto and Trippa.

Excluding the legendary steak, typical second courses in Florence are tripe and lampredotto. Eating a lampredotto sandwich or a portion of tripe by the roadside, accompanied by a nice cold beer is standard practice for a Florentine! These are also dishes of simple origin, like most of our typical menu. The main ingredient for both is offal, one of the "poor cuts" of the meat, that is, the entrails. Lampredotto is made with the abomasum, one of the four cow’s stomachs, while tripe is made from different parts of the stomach: the rumen, reticulum, omasum as well as the abomasum.

Many reading this might be disgusted, but we are used to it! For those who aren’t affected, you know what delights we are talking about. This is a true masterpiece of street food that has been on the streets of Florence for centuries, first with carts called barrocci and then with the food trucks of today, called simply lampredottai or trippai.

Photo credits: https://www.instagram.com/p/BvyhIcqF31V/


CURIOSITY
  • LAMPREDOTTO: the name lampredotto initially refered to lamprey, a fish widely used in the United Kingdom by nobles and aristocrats for delicious dishes. The Florentine nobility were also fond of it. Those who could not afford it, invented a more easily accessible version: a nice offal sandwich, the Lampredotto! To find out more about our beloved sandwich click here!

  • TRIPPA ALLA FIORENTINA: tripe can be eaten in various Italian regions including Veneto, Lombardy and, of course, in Lazio. The Florentine version of the dish is characterized by the use of peeled tomatoes (from when tomatoes arrived from the Americas in the 18th century), roast meat, butter and parmesan after cooking (pecorino is used in the Roman dish).

Photo credits: https://www.visittuscany.com/it/ricette/la-ricetta-della-trippa-alla-fiorentina/


AGNESE’S RECIPES
Let's return to the unmissable recipes of Agnese Pugi, a Florentine cook with more than ten years experience in the kitchens of Florence between starred restaurants and 5-star hotels (look for her on Instagram for recipes in Italian and English!). Did you miss the first installment of our culinary tour? Click here!

Zimino lampredotto (we have chosen this version of the lampredotto for you!)
Serves 4 

  • 1 kg of lampredotto
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 700 gr of spinach
  • 1 tin of high-quality peeled tomatoes 
  • Extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper

  1. Repeatedly rinse the tripe until well-cleaned, cut into thin strips.
  2. In a large saucepan, brown the garlic with plenty of extra virgin olive oil. Add the chopped peeled tomatoes with your hands, then salt and pepper, and cook until the tomato has receded (about 20 minutes).
  3. Add the lampredotto and cook for another 25 minutes or until it has dried.
  4. Add chard and spinach, washed well, roughly cut and pre-cooked.
  5. Add salt and pepper to taste.


Trippa alla Fiorentina
Serves 4 

  • 1 kg of pre-cooked veal tripe
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 small onions
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tins (400g each) of high-quality peeled tomatoes 
  • Grated Parmesan
  • Extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper

  1. Repeatedly rinse the tripe until well-cleaned.
  2. In a saucepan, sauté the coarsely chopped vegetables (celery, carrot, onion and garlic) with plenty of oil. When they are golden, add the chopped peeled tomatoes with your hands and cook for 15/20 minutes or until the water released from the tomatoes has been absorbed. 
  3. Add the tripe cut into strips, then salt and pepper and continue cooking over medium heat for about 20/30 minutes.
  4. The trippa alla Fiorentina is ready when the juices released are absorbed and have reached a creamy and slightly sticky consistency.
  5. Serve with grated parmesan cheese and ground pepper.

Enjoy your meal!

Do not miss the other episodes of the Florentine culinary tour! 



Header photo credits: https://www.bambitrippaelampredotto.it/