Trippa con Patate alla Calabrese

Trippa con Patate alla Calabrese is a spicy tripe recipe of tripe with potatoes. It comes from the heart of Calabria, one of Italy’s spiciest and most tradition-rich regions. This Italian tripe recipe has been cooking away in the Calabrian hills for generations. Tripe and potatoes simmering gently in spicy tomato sauce until the tripe is melt in your mouth tender. Waiting for a thick slice of rustic bread to mop it up.

Tripe has a bad reputation these days. Mainly because people have become squeamish. But when cooked well, tripe is fantastic. For me, there are 3 secrets to enjoying Italian tripe recipes:

1. Cook the tripe long and slow so that it is very tender.
2. Marry it with very fresh and bold flavours.
3. Try and forget that you are eating a cow’s stomach lining.

What Makes It Different from Other Italian Tripe Dishes?

Almost every region in Italy has a tripe dish. For example, in Rome, you’ll find Trippa alla Romana, cooked with mint and Pecorino cheese. And in Sicily, there’s Trippa alla Ragusana, cooked with cinnamon and nuts. In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, they serve Trippa in Umido, a soup-like tripe stew with beans.

But Calabria’s unique twist is the addition of Calabria’s signature peperoncino chilli. In fact, Trippa con Patate alla Calabrese is probably the spiciest of all Italian tripe recipes.

Where to Eat Trippa con Patate alla Calabrese?

Trippa con Patate is found in villages and towns all across Calabria, especially in the inland areas where people raise their own animals. It’s part of la cucina povera, the “poor man’s cooking,” which means making something amazing out of simple ingredients.

Calabrian Tripe Festival

In Catanzaro, there’s a small local festival where people cook and eat trippa dishes in the streets. It’s often part of a saint’s feast day. Families bring their own pots of tripe to share.

As with many Italian recipes, there are many recipes for Trippa con Patate alla Calabrese. If you ask ten Calabrian nonnas how to make it, you’ll get ten different answers. But the key steps always remain the same. The tripe is cooked for a long time with potatoes in a tomato sauce. And as much Calabrian chilli as you can handle.

Buon appetito! 🇮🇹

Also Read

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

1. Trippa in Umido – a Friuli stew with beans and potatoes.
2. Trippa alla Ragusana – a Sicilian tripe dish flavoured with Middle Eastern flavours.
3. Trippa alla Romano – Rome’s classic tripe dish.
4. Trippa all’ Aretina – a little known Tuscan tripe recipe with lemon and bolognese sauce.
5. Tripe (Trippa) – a guide to tripe in Italian cooking

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Trippa e Patate alla Calabrese

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Trippa con Patate alla Calabrese is a spicy tripe recipe cooked with potatoes and Calabrian peperoncino chillies from the heart of Italy's Calabria region.

Ingredients

• 1 kg tripe (cut into finger width strips)
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• half stick celery
• 2 lemons (zested and quartered)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion (Finley chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic (grated)
• 1 tin crushed tomatoes (use a good quality Italian brand)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 Calabrian Peperoncino chilli
• 200 grams potatoes (peeled and quartered)
• Salt
• Black pepper

Instructions 

• Add the tripe, the white wine vinegar, celery and quartered lemons to a large pan and cover with water. Bring the pan to the boil then simmer for half an hour in water. Remove the tripe (discarding the water, celery and lemons).
• Sauté the onion in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil, then add the tripe and cook until fragrant. Then add the chopped peeled tomatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes. Then add the herbs, lemon zest and the chilli and stir well to combine.
• Add 125 ml water and season with salt and pepper, then cook over low heat for at least an hour, adding water if the dish becomes too dry.
• After 30 minutes, add the potatoes, adding just enough water to cover the potatoes if needed.
• When the tripe is tender when pierced with a fork, turn off the heat and serve.

Notes

1. Spiciness is a very personal matter, and so the amounts in my recipe are conservative. Taste as you, and add as much chilli as you can handle.
2. Use some chicken stock or vegetable stock instead of water for a deeper flavour.
3. Serve with a slice of rustic crusty bread.
4. Peperoncino chilli isnt easy to find, but you can use any chilli or chilli flakes.