Tripe alla Romana (Roman-Style Tripe)

La storia di questo piatto

Trippa alla Romana is the humble heart of Rome's quinto quarto, the cooking of offal that fed the city's working neighborhoods and still sits at the center of its table. Tripe of beef, tomato, guanciale and Pecorino Romano DOP, a dish that tastes of Lazio.

Ingredienti

• 800 g Beef tripe
• 400 g Peeled plum tomatoes
• 1 medium Onion
• 1 medium Carrot
• 1 stalk Celery
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 10 leaves Fresh mint
• 100 g Pecorino Romano DOP
• 4 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
• 300 ml Meat broth
• 5 g Salt
• 2 g Black pepper
• 60 g Guanciale (cured pork cheek)
• 100 ml Dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons White wine vinegar

Preparazione

1. If the tripe is not already cleaned and blanched, scrape it carefully under cold running water. Place it in a large pot with cold water, the vinegar and a pinch of salt, bring to a boil and parboil for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse thoroughly, discarding the water. Return it to clean, lightly salted water and simmer gently for 45 minutes, until it is tender when pierced with a fork. Drain, let it cool slightly, and cut into strips about a finger wide.
2. While the tripe simmers, finely chop the onion, carrot and celery. In a heavy-bottomed pot, render the diced guanciale over medium heat with 3 tablespoons of oil, then add the chopped vegetables and cook until you obtain a golden, glossy soffritto, without burning it; if it darkens too quickly, lower the heat. Add the crushed garlic for just one minute, until fragrant, then remove it so it does not make the sauce bitter.
3. Add the drained tripe to the soffritto, let it flavor for a couple of minutes, and deglaze with the white wine, letting the alcohol evaporate. Add the tomatoes, crushed with a spoon, and the hot broth. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to minimum and cook with the lid partly covering the pot for 80 minutes, stirring occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom. The sauce should reduce and thicken, and the tripe should be tender, almost cuttable with a spoon. If it dries out too much, add a ladle of hot water.
4. Off the heat (or during the last 2 minutes of cooking), tear the fresh mint leaves by hand, without cutting them with a knife as this dulls their aroma, and stir them into the hot sauce. Taste and adjust salt and pepper carefully: the pecorino you will add at the table is already salty.
5. Serve the tripe piping hot in deep bowls. Sprinkle generously with freshly grated Pecorino Romano, which melts on contact with the hot sauce. Finish with a grind of black pepper and 1 tablespoon of raw extra virgin olive oil, divided among the bowls.