Veal Recipes

Based on Tuscan tradition of elevating humble ingredients into heavenly stews.

Serves 6 as an appetizer or 4 as a main course.

Ingredients

For the tripe:
1½ pounds veal tripe (680g)
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves
2 bay leaves
4 fresh parsley springs
3 fresh thyme sprigs
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns

For the sauce:
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½  small carrot, finely chopped
½  celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
24-oz jar or can tomato puree (680g)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 fresh basil leaves
¾ cup fresh bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated Parmigian-Reggiano cheese

Directions

For tripe:
Put all ingredients for the tripe in a large pot and add enough water to cover by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until tender, about 3 hours.

Drain the tripe and set aside to cool. Discard the vegetables, herbs and spices. Once completely cooled, pat the tripe dry with paper towels. Cut into thin strips about 2 inches long.

For sauce:
Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
Add the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent and the garlic begins to color, 8 – 10 minutes.
Stir in the broth, tomato puree and tripe.
Simmer for 1 hour.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
The tripe can be made to this point and refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month.
Reheat before proceeding.
Remove from the heat and stir in the basil leaves.

Preheat the broiler.