You can not go to Florence and not stop in one of the classic kiosks, better known as trippai (or lampredottai) to eat, in fact, the sandwich with tripe or lampredotto, the top of the Florentine street food! In a simple sandwich is enclosed, in reality, a mix of tradition, authenticity and genuineness, the philosophy of street food. But what exactly is tripe? It is the offal – or entrails – of different parts of the stomach of cattle, which have been part of the gastronomic tradition since the times of the ancient and glorious Greek and Latin civilizations. Tripe is not, however, a specialty exclusively Tuscan and Florentine: if you go to the parts of Rome, Naples or Genoa, they will not open their eyes from amazement if you ask for tripe, as well as in many other Italian regions, only that they will serve it in the local way and not Florentine … after all, when in Rome, do as the Romans do!
After cutting the tripe into strips, prepare a soffritto with onion, carrots, parsley and celery, add the tripe and let it brown a bit, before finishing it with salt, pepper and peeled tomatoes. It is left to cook until the water from the pomarola and tripe has drained away just enough; at that point, it is ready to be served, perhaps with an addition of Parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil…here is the Tripe alla Fiorentina.
