Lampredotto — Florentine Tripe Street Food

Florence, Tuscany. The trippai of Florence have documented history going back to the 14th century. The city's butchering tradition — and the Florentine culture of eating the whole animal — made lampredotto the defining street food of the city.

Lampredotto is the fourth stomach of the cow (the abomasum — the true digestive stomach, as opposed to the other three rumen chambers) slow-cooked in a broth of onion, celery, carrot, and tomato until tender, then sliced thin and served in a semolina roll (semellino or bun) dipped in the cooking broth, dressed with salsa verde and hot sauce (salsa piccante). It is the street food of Florence — sold from trippai (tripe carts) in the San Lorenzo market and throughout the city. Nothing marks Florentine identity more precisely.

Lampredotto has a deep, intensely savoury, gelatinous character — the fourth stomach has more fat and a stronger flavour than the other tripe sections. The broth dipping enriches the bread; the salsa verde cuts through the richness with parsley and caper acidity; the hot sauce adds heat. This is offal eating at its most honest and satisfying.