In Italy, there are many types of pasta called ‘gnocchetti‘ (literally translated little gnocchi). Shapes and ingredients can vary with each gnocchetti recipe, depending on the region.
Although many abroad think only of potato gnocchi when they hear the word ‘gnocchi,’ this is only one kind of gnocchi in Italy. For instance, this semolina gnocchi recipe (a traditional Roman food recipe) has no potato at all!
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While tripe isn’t for everyone, this is the definitive Italian Tripe recipe for anyone who likes beef tripe. The sauce—with tomato, mint, white wine and pecorino cheese—is divine.
This recipe uses beef tripe parts from all three edible stomachs of the cow. Preparing tripe is not complicated—the complicated part may be finding it at a local butcher!
Tripe is extremely nutritious! It is low in fat and high in protein. In ancient times, it was a main source of nutrition for poor Italians who couldn’t afford choicer cuts of meat.
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Learn how to make Italian Tripe recipe with our video recipe, filmed in Italy:
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How to Make Italian Tripe
For the complete recipe for making Roman Tripe, check out the recipe card below!
What is Tripe?
Tripe is the edible stomachs of the cow. There are three, each with a different texture.
Boil it for 15 minutes.
Even if the tripe you’ve purchased is already clean, we recommend boiling it in salt water with onion, carrot and celery for 15 minutes to remove any lingering odor.
Serve with bread!
Italian Tripe is traditionally served with bread for a fantastic scarpetta (sopping up the sauce).
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Tomato Products We Recommend
This tripe recipe calls for crushed tomatoes. In Italy, Italians have a secret for crushed tomatoes: they use or buy whole peeled tomatoes, remove the seeds and ‘water’ and then crush them with a blender or by hand. Why not just buy crushed tomatoes?
Italians know that canned crushed tomatoes tend to be less sweet than passata (purée) or whole peeled canned tomatoes. This is because skins and seeds often make their way into crushed tomato products, which produces a less sweet product.
For dishes like Roman Style Tripe (Trippa alla Romana), here in the PIATTO™ kitchen we tend to use:
To find out more about why, check out our guide on best canned tomatoes for sauce!
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Other Italian Tripe Recipes
Check out the traditional recipe for Trippa alla Fiorentina (Florence Style Tripe) on our website!
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Italian Tripe Recipe – Trippa alla Romana
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb beef tripe cleaned
- 1 onion for pre-cooking the tripe
- 1 carrot for pre-cooking the tripe
- 1 rib celery for pre-cooking the tripe
- 1 onion chopped
- ½ carrot chopped
- 1 rib celery chopped
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- handful fresh mint minced
- 4 tbsp pecorino romano cheese finely grated
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 4 tbsp olive oil or as needed
- fresh chili peppers to taste
- fine salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Pre-Cook the Tripe
- Boil the tripe for 15 minutes in salted water with a whole onion, carrot and celery to remove the last of the odor. Drain and set aside.
Sauté the Tripe
- Coat the bottom of a skillet generously with olive oil. Sauté the chopped onion, carrot and celery over medium-low heat until the onions start to appear translucent.
- Add the tripe to the vegetables and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat.
- Add a ½ cup of white wine. Stir, and cook until the wine has evaporated.
Make the Sauce
- Add crushed tomato and a 1 1/2 cups of water to the tripe.
- Bring the sauce to a boil. Add a handful of fresh mint and a pinch of salt.
- Cover and cook the tripe in the sauce over medium-low heat for 2 hours.
Finish with Pecorino Cheese
- After the two hours, turn off the heat and add about 4 Tbs of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Stir to melt the cheese. Feel free to top with more pecorino when you serve the dish.
Video
Nutrition
Little Gnocchi Without Potatoes
In this recipe, we’ll show you how to make the gnocchetti popular in the Umbria region of Italy!
They are little gnocchi without potatoes, made only with water, breadcrumbs and flour. For this reason, they are the ideal fresh pasta recipe to whip up for a special occasion or for guests. This gnocchetti recipe is a fast and easy fresh pasta recipe for beginners to make.
Fun fact: these are the traditional gnocchetti used to make another traditional pasta recipe from the Umbria region: Gnocchetti alla Collescipolana! In that recipe, the gnocchetti are combined with a sauce of beans, onions and sausage!
How to Make Gnocchetti
This gnocchetti recipe is so easy! The proportion of flour to breadcrumbs is the same as found in the traditional recipe. However, like many authentic Italian pasta recipes, the original recipe does not recommend how much water to mix into the pasta. So, in our recipe, we’re going to do that!
See the recipe card (below) for ingredient quantities.
Make the Gnocchetti Pasta Dough
Mix together the flour and fine, unseasoned breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl. Use a sieve (setaccio in Italian) to do this if you’ve got one.
Add half of the lukewarm water to the dry ingredients. Mix the ingredients together with your hands. When that water is absorbed, add the rest of the water. Continue mixing by hand.
When the dough becomes a ball, transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Briefly knead the dough by hand until the dough ball is smooth and all of the dry ingredients are well incorporated.
Cover the dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
Stretch and Shape the Gnocchetti Pasta
After the pasta dough has rested, cut off about a third of the pasta dough. Keep the rest of the dough covered until you are ready to use it. This will prevent it from drying out.
Roll the palms of your hands on top of the piece of dough, stretching it. into a rope.
Stretch the rope of pasta until it is 1/2 cm (.2 in) in diameter . Use a pastry cutter or large knife to cut the pasta rope into pieces a bit longer than the diameter of the dough—about 1 cm (.4 in).
Make all of the dough into gnocchetti. Dust all cut gnocchetti with flour to prevent them from sticking together. You can use all-purpose or semolina flour for dusting. Boil the gnocchetti in salted water until they float to the surface—4-6 minutes. Buon appetito!
Tips for Making Little Gnocchi without Potatoes
Size of the Gnocchetti? The finished gnocchetti (“little gnocchetti”) should be ½ cm (.2 in) wide and 1 cm (.4 in) long.
Dough is Stiff This gnocchetti recipe creates dough that is rather stiff—unlike the soft dough commonly used to make potato gnocchi. This is normal. These gnocchetti have a chewier texture.
Traditional Gnocchetti Recipe (Little Gnocchi Without Potatoes)
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 pastry cutter or knife
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour all purpose or pastry
- 1 cup fine breadcrumbs unseasoned
- 1 cup water lukewarm
- 1 pinch fine salt
Instructions
Make the Gnocchetti Pasta Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and fine, unseasoned breadcrumbs. Use a sieve to do this if you've got one.
- Add half of the lukewarm water to the dry ingredients, mixing the ingredients together with your hands. When that water is absorbed, add the rest of the water and continue mixing by hand.
- When the dough becomes a ball, transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Briefly knead the dough by hand. Knead it until the dough ball is smooth and all of the dry ingredients are well incorporated.
- Cover the dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
Stretch and Shape the Gnocchetti
- Cut off about a third of the pasta dough. Keep the rest of the dough covered until you are ready to use it to prevent it from drying out.
- Create a rope with the pasta dough by rolling the palms of your hands on top of the dough, stretching it.
- Stretch the rope of pasta until it is ½ cm (.2 in) in diameter. Use a pastry cutter or large knife to cut the pasta rope into pieces with a length of 1 cm (.4 in).
- Repeat these steps with the rest of the gnocchetti dough. Dust the finished gnocchetti with flour to prevent them from sticking together.
Cook the Gnocchetti
- Boil the gnocchetti in salted water until they float to the surface—4-6 minutes. Buon appetito!