Busecca
A rich Milanese winter soup of tender simmered beef tripe, borlotti beans, soffritto, and fresh sage, served over toasted crusty bread.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 80 min
- Total
- 100 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 490 kcal
Equipment
- •Large heavy-based pot or Dutch oven
- •Chef's knife
- •Chopping board
- •Ladle
- •Toaster or grill pan
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 490 kcal
- fat
- 21 g
- carbs
- 36 g
- fibre
- 7 g
- protein
- 38 g
- calories
- 490 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the pre-cleaned tripe thoroughly under cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper.
- 2
Slice the tripe into thin strips roughly half a centimetre wide and five centimetres long.
- 3
Melt the butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat and add the diced pancetta.
- 4
Add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, and sage leaves to the pot.
- 5
Fry gently for eight to ten minutes until the vegetables are soft and sweet.
- 6
Add the sliced tripe to the pot and cook for five minutes, stirring frequently.
- 7
Pour in the tomato passata and warm beef broth, then bring to a gentle boil.
- 8
Lower the heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer gently for one hour.
- 9
Stir in the drained borlotti beans and cook uncovered for fifteen minutes to thicken.
- 10
Taste and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- 11
Place a slice of toasted bread into each warm serving bowl.
- 12
Ladle the hot soup over the bread and scatter generously with grated Grana Padano.
Chef's tips
Always purchase pre-cleaned, blanched tripe from a reputable butcher; raw uncleaned tripe requires hours of bleaching and scrubbing. Using a combination of honeycomb tripe and flat tripe yields the most appealing textural contrast. Like many rustic stews, busecca develops deeper flavour when rested and enjoyed the following day.
Ingredient substitutions
- pancetta → unsmoked bacon lardons
- Grana Padano → Parmigiano Reggiano
- borlotti beans → cannellini beans
Storage
Store cooled busecca in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat slowly in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water if the broth has thickened.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Using raw uncleaned tripe instead of ready-blanched tripe, leading to an unpleasant gamey aroma.
- •Boiling the soup vigorously rather than maintaining a low, steady simmer, which toughens the tripe.
- •Adding the cooked borlotti beans too early, causing them to break down completely into mush.
Serving suggestions
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