Florentine Recipes: Lampredotto Meatballs, Enrica’s Version

How many of you have argued with friends over which is the best lampredotto in Florence? From “the stand in Piazza a Gavinana across from the Coop” to the one “next to the Lidl, near the university,” there are countless spots in Florence where you can eat lampredotto.

This classic Florentine dish—made from one of the four sections that make up a cow’s stomach, the abomasum—is among the most common street foods, prepared here since time immemorial.

In our collaboration with blogger Enrica della Martira, we bring you a delicious lampredotto dish: meatballs. Her recipe was inspired by Luca Cai’s Osteria Tripperia il Magazzino.

Here are the ingredients (serves 4):

400 g cooked lampredotto
2 boiled, peeled potatoes
1 handful of chopped parsley
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
salt
pepper
breadcrumbs
flour
2 eggs
peanut oil

Put the lampredotto, parsley, potatoes, one egg, the Parmesan, and a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper into the bowl of a food processor. Blend everything together. If the mixture seems a little too wet, just add a bit of breadcrumbs to soak up the excess.

Now it’s time to shape the mixture into balls and roll them first in flour, then in the second beaten egg, and finally in breadcrumbs. Fry the meatballs in a tablespoon of very hot seed oil, sprinkle them with salt, and voilà—the treat is served.