Mike and I love Italian food. So much so that we were recently talking about taking a dream trip to drive up and down Italy just to eat. It’s probably a noodle-y fever dream, but it does tell you we are serious about Italian food. We pretty much try to hit up an Italian restaurant in every city we go to. We have a couple here at home too, but we just demoted one of them, partially because their food hasn’t been that good and partially because they don’t have tripe anymore.
They were the only Italian joint in the city that served trippa alla Romana, or Roman style tripe: super tender, rich tripe slow braised in a savory tomato sauce. Trippa alla Romana is usually served showered with parm, with a large amount of toasted bread alongside. The soft and chewy tripe, along with toasty crunchy bread and savory tomato sauce is one of my all time go-to comfort food winter dishes.
Why tripe?
Tripe is one of those foods that isn’t really common and I think it’s so sad. If we’re going to be eating animals, we should really be eating nose to tail. I know nose to tail is kind of trendy (well, maybe not so much anymore) and it’s not trendy to like trendy, but the off cuts are often the most delicious and most rewarding. Not to mention cheap!
Roman tripe at home
Anyway, since we haven’t been able to have tripe out, Mike came up with the brilliant idea of making trippa alla Romana at home. I don’t know why I never thought of doing it before, but it was really easy and so good. We picked up some honeycomb tripe from our local Asian grocery store and from there it was just a question of slow cooking it and making a delicious tomato sauce to braise it in. We served it up with a bunch of toasty bread (there was way more bread than in the photos) and went to town, no expensive restaurant needed!
Tips and tricks
- You can buy tripe at the butcher, or if you head to a local Asian grocery store, they’re pretty much guaranteed to have it. The kind of tripe you want is honeycomb tripe, which is pretty distinctive looking, with a honeycomb pattern.
- If you want a really tender tripe, you’ll need to simmer it for 1-2 hours. Some people like to add a tiny bit of vinegar to the water to get rid of the “tripe” smell, but I didn’t find that necessary.
- We used some guanciale (cured pork cheek) in the base of our tomato sauce, but it was totally over the top and not necessary.
- If you happen to have leftover tomato sauce in your fridge (or even a meat sauce), you can add the tripe to it and just use that. It’ll probably even more delicious!
Side dishes
Trippa alla Romana is great all on its own but what is life (or a great meal) without side dishes:
- One Day No-Knead Focaccia
- Super Creamy Cacio and Pepe Pasta
- Bolognese
- Risotto with mushrooms and eggs and parm
- Other salad
Ciao!
-Steph
Roman tripe: Roman Style Tripe in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb honeycomb tripe
- 1-2 ounces Chopped Guanciale optional
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- pinch of crushed red peppers to taste
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste optional
- 14 oz canned tomatoes
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- freshly ground parmesan to finish
Instructions
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Place the tripe in a pot and cover with water. Season with salt and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Turn the heat down to a very low simmer and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, covered, until very tender. Add water as needed. Remove the tripe from the cooking liquid, reserving the cooking liquid. Let the tripe cool slightly before cutting into 1 x 2 inch strips.
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Meanwhile, while the tripe is cooking, make your tomato sauce: In a pot, crisp up the guanciale or pancetta until brown and crispy and the fat renders out. If not using, heat up 1-2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, until soft but not brown. Stir in the crushed red peppers and tomato paste. Add the tomatoes, the cut up tripe, and 1/2 cup of the tripe cooking liquid. Bring to a simmer for for 30 mins to 1 hour, partially covered. Taste, season, and finish generously with parm. Enjoy with toasted bread, if desired.
