Trippa alla romana
If the saying ‘Thursday gnocchi’ is true, that of ‘tripe Saturday’ is equally true for the Romans. Trippa alla Romana, Roman style tripe is still served at lunchtime in many taverns and trattorias in Trastevere and throughout Rome. This tripe dish is always prepared with tomato, but in order to call it a real ‘alla romana’ it has to be served with mint and pecorino romano cheese.
Belonging to the stomach of the bovine, the tripe is part of the so-called quinto quarto, or the fifth quarter, and is from the entrails. For this reason, in the past, it was considered a poor but nutritious food. Over time, tripe has almost disappeared from Italian tables, probably almost only to be found at the restaurants in Rome.
Trippa alla ROmana is very lean and and nutritious.
Other famous roman ‘quinto quarto dishes are rigatoni con pajata and coda alla vaccinara.
In papal Rome, Trippa alla romana was eaten on Saturday, the day of slaughter (so much so that even today some restaurants display the sign ” Trippa Saturday “).
Ingredients
4 persons
Cooking time : 1 hr 30 mins.
Ingredients:
1 Kg tripe mixed with strips
500 g rustic tomato puree
100 g grated pecorino romano
extra virgin olive oil or pork fat
3 cloves
1 clove of garlic
1 white onion
1 carrot
1 celery
1 glas of dry white wine
mint
chili pepper
Wash the tripe well and boil it in salted water for 10 minutes.
Peel and dice the celery, carrot and onion. Fry them together with the garlic at medium heat. Add the tripe, brown it for 3 minutes, add 1/2 glass of wine, let it evaporate, then add the tomato puree, 1 glass of warm water, a pinch of chilli pepper, the cloves and cook for 40 minutes with the lid on.
Remove the lid and continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes, until the sauce is concentrated, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Turn off the heat, season with half of the pecorino cheese and 6 chopped mint leaves. Distribute the tripe on the plates and complete with the rest of the pecorino cheese, another 6 chopped mint leaves and serve.
Tips
If you want to try out this culinary speciality, there is a good chance it can be found at the menu cart of the classic restaurant Sora Lella