Trippa alla Genovese

Trippa alla genovese is a slow-cooked tripe dish from Genoa, cooked with pine nuts, dried porcini mushrooms, white wine, and tomatoes. It is a rich, deeply flavoured secondo (main course) that has fed the city for centuries, sold from marble-countered tripperie (tripe shops) in the caruggi, the narrow medieval alleyways of Genoa’s old town.

Liguria is not a region you associate with beef. The terrain makes cattle farming almost impossible – steep hillsides terraced for olive trees and herbs, a narrow coastal strip squeezed between the Apennines and the sea. There are no wide valleys here, no meadows for grazing. In fact there are almost no truly traditional Liguria recipes with beef as the main ingredient. So it might seem very odd that trippa alla genovese has cemented its place on Liguria’s unique regional menu.

But what Liguria lacks in cattle pastures, it makes up for in sea trade. For hundreds of years, Genoa was one of the most important port cities of the Mediterranean, a place where ships docked from across the known world and animals were brought in for slaughter. The best cuts were destined for elsewhere . What remained – the stomach, the offal, the parts that took work to make edible – fed the city.

Tripe has been eaten in Genoa for a long time. A tripe broth called la sbira can be traced back as far back 1479. Nobody is entirely sure where the name sbira came from. One account says it came from the guards (sbirri) at a nearby oratory in the old city. Another says it was the last meal given to condemned prisoners. What is certain is that this broth eventually became the braised dish Genoa still knows today.

For generations, trippa alla genovese was sold from tripperie – dedicated tripe shops – in the caruggi, the maze of narrow medieval streets that make up Genoa’s historic centre. These shops had marble counters and kept their pots simmering all day. The Antica Tripperia di Vico Casana, one of the few still operating, has been there for over a hundred years and is listed as one of Genoa’s historic establishments. The tradition of the trippaio (tripe seller) is nearly gone now. In most of Liguria, this dish is made at home rather than found on a restaurant menu. It is not the kind of thing you stumble across as a tourist.

Buon appetito! 🇮🇹

Also Read

Looking for more classic regional Italian tripe dishes? Then here are some of my favourite recipes:

Tripe Guide – a guide to tripe in Italian cooking

Trippa in Umido – a Friuli stew with beans and potatoes.

Trippa alla Ragusana – a Sicilian tripe dish flavoured with Middle Eastern flavours.

Trippa alla Romano – Rome’s classic tripe dish.

Trippa all’ Aretina – a little known Tuscan tripe recipe with lemon and bolognese sauce.

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Trippa alla Genovese

Genoese tripe braised with dried porcini, pine nuts, tomato, and white wine and served with crusty bread.

Equipment

• Heavy-based casserole or terracotta pot with lid
• Fine sieve for straining porcini liquid
• Dry frying pan for toasting pine nuts

Ingredients

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 800 grams pre-cooked tripe (cut into strips)
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 carrot (finely chopped)
• 1 stick celery (finely chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 20 grams dried porcini mushrooms (soaked in warm water for 30 minutes)
• 20 grams pine nuts (lightly toasted)
• 400 grams tinned chopped tomatoes
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 2 medium potatoes (quartered)
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
• 50 grams Parmigiano Reggiano (grated, to serve)
• Crusty bread or crostini to serve

Instructions 

• Boil the tripe in salted water for 15 minutes and drain well.
• Drain the soaked porcini and reserve the soaking liquid. Chop the porcini roughly. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine sieve and set aside.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-based casserole or terracotta pot over a medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and saute for 5 minutes, then add the carrot, celery, 1 tbsp parsley and garlic. Cook gently for 8-10 minutes until soft. Do not colour.
• Add the pine nuts and chopped porcini. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring.
• Add the tripe and stir to coat in the soffritto. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the white wine and let it evaporate for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the potatoes, tomatoes and a ladleful of the porcini soaking liquid. Stir well. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a low heat, cover, and cook for 1 hour.
• Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Serve with grated Parmigiano, freshly chopped parsley, and crusty bread for the sauce.