Porchetta & Lampredotto

The most typical food at markets, fairs and festivals is the “porchetta” or roasted suckling pig, originally from Lazio, but now considered a national dish. It is even found in Italian neighborhoods in the States, where it is called pulled pork.Following the traditional recipe, “porchetta” is made by deboning a little piglet, dousing it in salt, stuffing it with its own liver, garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds and other herbs. It is then rolled up and slowly roasted whole, usually over a wood fire. The meat is then sliced thinly and served cold on unsalted bread.Although widespread throughout Tuscany, “lampredotto” is a traditional Florentine tripe dish, made of the stomach and intestine parts of baby calves. Served with vegetables and a green parsley sauce, it is traditionally eaten with Tuscan unsalted bread. Before cooking, the meat is sliced and fried in a big saucepan along with all the other ingredients, so that the beef soaks in all the different flavours.Anyway if you don't feel like eating sliced pigs or tripe, cold cuts, cheeses and generous servings of “patatine” (french fries) are easily found almost everywhere.