Lampredotto: the recipe for the typical Florentine street sandwich

He lamprey It is street food Florentine par excellence. Cooked in large pots in the trucks dotted around the streets of the city, impregnated with its intoxicating scent, it is usually served in a soft sandwich called sole with a few spoonfuls of salsa verde and a drizzle of spicy oil.

It’s just about Gut of veal, belonging to the offal family, obtained however, in this case, exclusively from the fourth stomach of the animal: called in the technical jargon abomasum or glandular stomach.

Classification aside, it is a very tasty dish and not at all complex to make: all you have to do is cook the meat in strips, for about 1 hour and over low heat, in a broth made up of chopped herbs, aromatic herbs and tomato puree. Once ready, scoop it out with a slotted spoon, keep it warm then proceed to prepare the green sauce blend the stale breadcrumbs with the parsley, crumbled hard-boiled egg, extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice in the bowl of a mixer.

Finally, soak half of the sandwich with the broth, without soaking it too much, stuff it with the reserved lamprey then season it with 1 tablespoon of green sauce and a pinch of salt and pepper: the result will be a tasty and succulent sandwich to enjoy ataperitif with a glass of Chianti or at the table for an informal dinner with friends.

The green sauce, thanks to its acidic and slightly spicy flavor, goes perfectly with the pronounced taste of the lamprey. If you can’t find a sole, the traditional local sandwich which, unlike the Tuscan pane sciocco, is stuffed with salt, you can substitute it with puffed rosettes (or crumb) or you can opt for common breads, to be partially stripped of the crumb before filling them with meat.

Here we have offered you the classic recipe for the lamprey sandwich but it is not uncommon to come across some gourmet versions which include the addition, among the ingredients, of a little truffle sauce, black cabbage, pecorino cheese, leeks or Taggiasca olives.

Find out how to prepare lampredotto by following the step-by-step procedure and tips. If you liked this recipe, try other traditional Tuscan dishes:

How to prepare lampredotto

Clean the celery, carrots and onion, and cut them into large pieces; then rinse the cherry tomatoes under running water and cut them in half 1.

Collect the tomatoes and herbs in a pan filled with cold water 2.

Add the lampredotto cut into strips 3.

Pour the tomato puree 4.

Stir in 1 tablespoon of oregano 5.

Fresh basil fragrance 6 and a few sage leaves, season with salt.

Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. 7.

Once the cooking time has elapsed, drain the lamprey from the broth 8 and keep it aside while it’s hot.

Prepare the green sauce: collect the stale breadcrumbs and the parsley in the bowl of a mixer 9.

Mix hard-boiled egg and garlic clove tenand season with salt and pepper.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon 11 and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Mix everything well, until you get a creamy consistency. 12.

Cut the sandwich in half and quickly dip the top of the bread, crumb side up, in the lampredotto broth 13: this way it will be even tastier and tastier.

The bread should be soft but not flaky 14.

Then stuff the base of the sandwich with the lamprey 15.

Drizzle with 1 tbsp salsa verde 16 and freshly ground pepper, and cover with half the soaked bread.

Bring the lampredotto sandwich to the table 17 and serve.

Advice

Buying the lamprey in a Florentine shop would be best, but since you cannot do this, so as not to skimp on quality, we suggest that you seek advice from your trusted butcher when making your choice.

To make the broth even stronger, you can add a few potatoes cut into cubes or you can enrich it with the vegetables of your choice: chard, zucchini, savoy cabbage in strips…

If you wish, you can spice it all up with a pinch of Chili powder while, for a more fragrant result, before dipping the bread in the cooking liquid, you can toast it for a few moments on a hot plate.

History and curiosities

That of lampredotto is a very old recipe that already has its roots in Tuscany more than a century ago. It is a piece of meat corresponding to the caillette, or fourth stomach of the calf which, in turn, is composed of two parts: a darker and leaner one, called gala (due to its resemblance to the ruffled fabrics of 18th century clothing), and a fatter and tastier one called but. For the sandwich to be tasty and melt in the mouth, we suggest you use both, then season everything according to our suggestions.

The singular name of the dish derives rather from nothing other than lampredaa large eel that once inhabited the Arno, with the typical sucker-shaped, slightly wavy mouth that locals say resembled the lamprey in appearance.

storage

Lampredotto can be stored in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for 2 days maximum. The stuffed sandwich should be eaten hot and fragrant at the moment.