Don’t be fooled by the title – this recipe is actually meatless. I do not know much about Sardinian food and cookery, but whenever I browse through books on the subject, I am surprised by how often (and how creatively) mint comes up in recipes – a herb not generally associated with Italian cooking. This recipe makes the point and it has become a favourite. It is modelled on the way tripe is often cooked in Sardinia, with tomato sauce, mint and sharp pecorino, but with butternut squash taking the lead role.
Read more: Butternut squash tripe-style, i.e. in a tomato, pecorino and mint sauce, from Sardinia – Zucca alla sarda, con pecorino e menta, alla moda della trippa – Crocoriga usu trippaMint can be bossy and it is here kept in place by two equally strong flavours: peperoncino and pecorino cheese. They all play big, loud sisters to the quiet butternut squash, which, nonetheless, manages to retain its sweet identity. An excellent, beguiling dish based on contrasts and yet very harmonious. A discovery.
3-4 portions
600g butternut squash, peeled and sliced into half cm slices (net weight)
One large clove of garlic, finely chopped
A generous pinch of peperoncino
1 x 400g can of crushed tomatoes, plus half its volume in water
50g grated, aged pecorino, plus extra at the table
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
Shallow fry the butternut squash in olive oil. Cook the slices until tender but still holding their shape (because they will undergo further cooking).
Drain on kitchen paper and salt them.
If there is still a lot of oil left in the pan, remove it bar a couple of tablespoons, otherwise add some.
Add the garlic, the peperoncino and stir, watching them with an eagle eye because the pan will be hot and the risk of burning the garlic is high.
When the oil is fragrant and garlicky (which will happen almost immediately), add the tomatoes and the water. Stir and salt lightly: you will add salty pecorino later on, hence go easy.
Simmer uncovered for ten minutes.
Add the pumpkin and simmer for about extra five minutes, turning the slices in the sauce: some will break up and that’ s fine.
Add the pecorino and the mint and stir again, as gently as possible.
Rest for 5 minutes and serve, passing extra cheese at the table.
The dish can be made in advance, but it will thicken as it sits: add some water to bring it back to a looser consistency, when you reheat it.
Notes
Ideally you want a sharp, crumbly Sardinian or Tuscan pecorino, but pecorino romano works too and this is easier to find here in the uk.
According to my Sardinian friend and great chef Andrea, this dish works well also without the cheese.
Non traditional as it is, I might be tempted to add, just prior to serving, some coarse, crisp breadcrumbs, fried in oil.
Italian home cooking 
It does remind me of the Sicilian recipe – except the tomatoes. But the tomatoes make it Tripe-style, right? Sounds just wonderful, Stef, and butternut squash is just coming into our farmers markets now.
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What an interesting combination of flavors!
It seems the Sardinian way with tripe is very similar to the Roman way. They also use tomatoes, pecorino and a kind of mint they call mentuccia—also used with artichokes—plus a pinch of peperoncino. Reminds me it’s been a while since I made tripe. I usually have it at least once during the cold weather months. But in the meantime I’m curious to try this method with winter squash, though it may need to wait until next year as they seem to have disappeared from the markets here.
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There is a Sicilian dish very similar to this (but without the tomatoes). I just dore mint! There is also a Roman dish referencing tripe in a fake way – the ‘tripe’ in question actually being thinly sliced frittata slathered in a tomato sauce and topped with pecorino and mint. Maybe the mint is all about countering the fatty mouthfeel of the cheese? Whatever it is, it’s lovely!
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I love all those italian “fake” dishes, as in sugo finto, pasta with the vongole fuite etc…. I tried uova in trippa but I was not impressed, party because not matter what, the frittatine end up overcooked, imo.
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Perché ‘overcooked’? a me non risulta ..? Whatever – to each his/her/their own 🙂
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I adore tripe and am actually not a butternut pumpkin lover tho’ that is a sin here in Australia – but your dish just asks to be prepared .partly perchance because mint is virtually ‘native’ here ! Have realized during the past few years that always travelling and eating in the north of the country may have been a tad shortsighted . . . so this will be on the plate soonest . . . ! . .
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Here in London, tripe is very very very difficult to find in shops: a ghost of the British culinary past, not even a relic. I now wait for when I am in Lucca where good tripe (in terms of flavour and husbandry) is far easier to find
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I don’t know the tripe dish, but I can almost see it in the top picture …and when I looked it up, it does look very similar! I’m still looking for a tripe dish which I genuinely enjoy – perhaps this is the one!
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did u try tripe withe borlotti and parmesan? highly recommended (Hazan might have a version). Unfortunately, tripe is not easy to find here in London, not even from Turner and George. I found some frozen one in Chinatown, years ago – it was ok, but far too bleached. I now wait when I am in Lucca, where I can find excellent tripe and from reputable sources. Odd that a quintessential British dish, has virtually disappeared (it says a lot about the British attitude to food)
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