Lampredotto

Traditional recipe

The fourth stomach of a bovine animal, boiled for hours in aromatic broth, served in a Tuscan sandwich with spicy green sauce: Florence's street food.

130 min

4 servings

Easy

Tuscany

EasyTuscany

Lampredotto (the fourth stomach of a cow, the abomasum) is Florence's most iconic street food, served by tripe sellers from their carts in the city's markets. Its name is thought to derive from the lamprey, the fish it was thought to resemble. Florentines have consumed it for centuries as a popular market food, first at the Mercato Centrale, then throughout the historic center. Lampredotto culture has been recognized as an intangible cultural heritage. It is served in a Tuscan panino bagnato (the lid of the sandwich is dipped in the cooking broth) with parsley salsa verde and spicy sauce: a perfect contrast.

Instructions

Voice reading

3 steps · natural Italian voice

Cook the lampredotto in the broth

Bring to a boil cold water with onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt. Add the lampredotto and reduce to a low simmer; cook for 90–120 minutes until tender to the touch. Skim frequently. Let it sit in the hot liquid for 20 minutes before removing it to preserve the juices.

Prepare the green sauce and the spicy sauce

Blend the well-dried parsley, garlic cloves, anchovies, desalted capers, and bread soaked in vinegar until smooth. Add oil. in a thin stream Emulsify until thick and creamy; adjust salt and acidity. Prepare the hot sauce separately. Reserve some of the broth to soften the sandwich when serving.

Slice and assemble the sandwich

Cut the lampredotto, while still hot, into thin slices against the grain. Open the rolls, lightly dip the soft bread crumb Top with hot broth to tenderize, arrange the meat on the ciabatta and season generously with salsa verde; add hot sauce to taste. Serve immediately with the remaining broth for dipping.

Chef's Tips

The sandwich lid is dipped in broth: this is the "bagnato" tradition. The lampredotto must be hot when assembling the sandwich. The quality of the aromatic broth makes a difference in the final flavor.