Funnily enough, Artusi himself was not fond of tripe, saying, ‘Tripe, however it is cooked and flavoured, is always ordinary.’ Nevertheless, he suggests this recipe for deep-fried tripe meatballs to convert the indifferent or the squeamish – it’s adapted from a cookbook dating to 1694. These meatballs make a delicious antipasto and are an easy way to get into using this cheap, nutritious, healthy ingredient.
In Florence, you can purchase already cooked tripe from the trippaio or lampredottaio (tripe or lampredotto vendors selling from food vans strategically dotted around the city), which saves time. If you buy it from your butcher, you will probably need to cook it (ask, just to be sure). To prepare tripe for this dish, simply place it in a stockpot of water with a whole, peeled onion and boil for 1 hour or until tender. You may need to add more water to keep the tripe sufficiently covered. When cooked, drain the tripe, rinse gently under running water and allow to cool before using in this recipe.