Dante’s burger, or simply Lampredotto sandwich?
“It is almost impossible to find a sandwich so simple, which brings such a blow of historical spirit and authenticity, than the Florentine Lampredotto…”
For some people, it can be endless challenge to take even a tiny Lampredotto bite. For the others, it is pure “food time machine” transferring you right into medieval Florence. For majority of the locals, it is a delight nobody can resist. Whatever your feelings are about legendary Lampredotto sandwich, nobody can deny its authenticity, as a Florentine king of medieval fast food.
lampredotto through history
Sometimes, Lampredotto’s popularity surpasses even verses from Dante’s Divine Comedy. Its history dates back from the same period of famous Palazzo Vecchio or Bargello Museum in Florence. We use to say how Italian top local dishes, like pizza or pasta, came out as food prepared by the poorest classes. It was the same with Lampredotto sandwich. Two pieces of three days old bread, a hard medieval burger bun, or just a pot to serve a portion, was fare enough for the start. Then comes the real thing – what goes inside this traditional Florentine sandwich? Well, imagine yourself as a poor worker in medieval Florence, struggling to feed your family. That means nothing, absolutely nothing can be thrown away while preparing a meal. Instead, every piece of leftover food should be used to make another simple dish. Forth of the cow’s stomach is not a super attractive ingredient, but cooked for hours in a broth can make a difference, and provide enough energy after eating it.
That is how Lampredotto made its first steps. It slowly grown as a signature, working class street food becoming serious competition even for some exclusive delicacies of the time. If Florentine nobility had a privilege to eat highly expensive Lamprey fish from the Arno river, then working class can do their show off with tasty sandwich called Lampredotto. What a “coincidence” was to have two almost identical dish names. Obviously, poor classes firmly established their beloved sandwich as a counterpart to the food of the rich. Century after century, this easy and practical sandwich became primary quick bite in Florence. Vendors would use old wooden carts painted in bright colors, to sell Lampredottos throughout the city. Later, they switched to tricycles, which make distribution way faster.
MAKING A DEVINE LAMPREDOTTO
Today Florentines stick to an old recipe. First, you should boil that famous stomach pieces for hours. Then grab a part of it from a broth and cut it into small pieces. Add salt and pepper, salsa verde and spicy (picante) sauce. Two parts of a bun can be dipped into a delicious broth (bagnato – bathed as locals would say) and your divine juicy delicacy, bursting with strong flavors is ready.
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Check out this amazing Lampredotto recipe with superb stories and explanations on this iconic Florentine street food dish. This adventure of flavors is brought to you by Eater.com
Dear Emma,
Thank you for your authentic reply and your superb culinary experience. In Italy, most of the restaurants close around 2.30pm and open at 6.00pm. In a city like Florence some restaurants will stay open even during the afternoon, but will be packed with people as you stated. You have found brilliant solution with Lampredotto and had a privilege to eat as a genuine Florentine lady. Pure local experience to remember. Keep traveling and exploring the world.
I remember eating this amazing sandwich in the heart of Italy! Some of my friends and I walked to find a restaurant, we walked and walked but every single restaurant was either closed or full with a wait time. We turned to the street vendor and tried this amazing sandwich. To this day it’s my favourite story to tell and proudly say I tried cow stomach at Lampredotto