Florentine Tripe Recipe (Trippa alla Fiorentina)

This is one of my favourite traditional dishes of Florence, the Florentine tripe (Trippa alla Fiorentina). It’s incredibly tasty, made with “poor” ingredients and it's a big part of the Tuscany popular and ancient tradional cusine.

Ingredients:
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
extra-virgin olive oil
3 pounds tripe, blanched and boiled
1 pound canned peeled tomatoes.
Salt
Pepper
Parmigiano cheese

Use only the best parts of the tripe, and cut it into very thin strips.
Clean, wash and chop the onion, carrot and celery and put into a metal pan with olive oil. Cook well, then add the tripe.
When tripe gets golden in colour, add the tomatoes, chopped very finely.
Add salt and pepper, then cook over a very low heat for about half an hour, until the sauce has reduced almost completely, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
The tripe may be served immediately when is still hot, sprinkled with some grated Parmigiano over.
Tripe is usually served with boiled or mashed potatoes or, if preferred, with cannellini beans and olive oil.

You can try this unique speciality in one of the several tripe stands (trippai) in the streets of the city.
Tripe stands are generally open from 8:30 or 9 a.m. to 6:30 or 7:30 p.m. some of them even on Saturdays.

Some addresses:
Mario Albergucci, Piazzale di Porta Romana.
Sergio Pollini, Via dei Macci (near Borgo La Croce).
Il Trippaio di Firenze, Via Maso Finiguerra.
Marco Bolognesi, Via Gioberti.
Trippaio, Via Dante Alighieri.
Nerbone (inside San Lorenzo Market, 011-39- 055-219-949).

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