Is the tripe in it? No. And not a single piece, no matter how tiny, of meat.
It’s a vegetarian dish that deliberately resembles tripe in appearance.
Hence the name.
Frittata trippata or Eggs in Tripe
The dish name combines the Italian word frittata and the adjective trippata from trippa (tripe).
But in this recipe, there isn’t either meat or offal!
When there was no meat on the peasants’ table, there was no lack of imagination. Frittata trippata, just eggs and tomato, is a recipe that was born this way, like a camouflage of the meat that wasn’t in the pot.
The recipe uses just eggs and passata di pomodoro. It is a simple dish that can satisfy many people cheaply, recycle -eventually- leftover tomato sauce from other preparations, and, during Lent, respect religious precepts. Dishes from cucina povera are consistently recognized by their ingredients: few, simple, and generously available in the countryside.
Although many consider this recipe of Tuscan origin, the Florentine version is well known. Rome also claims the recipe’s origins. What is certain is that it is a dish that is loved throughout central Italy.
This recipe is one of my few gastronomic memories of Maddalena, my paternal grandmother who, all too soon, shut herself away in a world of her own. In any case, my father’s family originated in that Apennine region of Romagna that became Tuscany, gully after gully, recipe after recipe. In that border area, as often happens, people and flavors mix and mingle, and more than one recipe is shared between that part of Romagna and nearby Mugello, from castagnaccio to chestnut polenta. And many recipes have crossed the border in both directions.
The blog also includes a recipe for ficattola, a fried bread typical of that border area.
How to make eggs and tomato
Grandma Maddalena preferred scrambled eggs to the frittata, which she mixed with tomato sauce.
I like both versions. It depends on the time available: scramble if I am in a hurry. Otherwise, I make one or a couple of frittata.
It was a hot day, and I had little desire to be at the stove. I had a bottle of homemade tomato passata from the last season and a fresh eggs basket. In a while, I dusted off this recipe that I hadn’t made in a long time.
Frittata trippata, eggs and tomato sauce is a dish with simple and rapid execution. While cooking the frittata in a different pan, I heat the sauce to flavor it. I cut the frittata into thin slices, stir, and I’m ready to go to the table.
Frittata trippata is a rustic dish; feel free to serve it directly in the cooking pan in the center of the table with lots and lots of bread. I like to serve this dish by bringing the pot and slices of toasted bread to the table.
Buona cucina, Monica
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Eggs and tomato (Frittata Trippata)
Ingredients
Frittata
- 3 medium or large eggs
- 20 ml of olive oil
- 2 g of salt
- 20 g of butter
Tomato sauce
- 20 g of butter
- 20 ml of olive oil
- 100 g of passata di pomodoro
- 100 ml of water at room temperature
- basil to taste
- 3 g of salt
Instructions
Frittata
- Shell eggs in a bowl, add oil, milk, and a pinch of salt, then beat with a fork for a minute.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan and pour in the batter. You can make two frittatas or one larger one.
- Cook the frittata over low heat and cover the pan until it pulls itself away from the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking for 2 minutes, then turn it over with the help of a plate or lid. Cook the other side for two minutes on low flame as well.
- Arrange the frittata on a plate and let it cool for a few minutes before rolling it up and cutting it into thin strips.
Tomato sauce and assembling
- Melt the butter in the oil using the pan where you cooked the frittata.
- Pour in the passata, water, and salt and stir before adding the basil.
- Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat.
- Pour the frittata strips into the sauce, and cook the eggs and tomato for about 5 minutes. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
