Zabaione
Zabaione
Region: Italy, Sicily
Category: Desserts
Season: Any
Difficulty: Medium Difficulty

Zabaione, also spelled zabaglione, is a delicious custard foam of Marsala wine, egg yolks and sugar, and must be one of Sicily’s and Italy’s most famous desserts. All kinds of theories have been advanced about the origins of zabaione–that it comes from the Greeks, or the Latin word sabaium, a kind of yeast, or from the French word sabayon (actually the French derives from the Italian), or from the French expression chaud bouillon (hot bouillon), or the seventeenth-century chef of Carlo Emanuele I of Savoy. More than likely zabaione is derived from the Sicilian word zabbina which refers to the foam resulting from the boiling of the milk for ricotta and means to whip while cooking which is exactly what you do to make zabaione. Zabbina derives from the Arabic word zarb, meaning a kind of sweet milk made from the thick part of curdled milk, in other words, a kind of ricotta. The first mention of something like this “creamy foam made from beating egg yolks with sugar and the addition of Marsala wine in a bain-marie” can be traced to the fifteenth century where it was called xabaione or zebaion. Zabaione was originally served hot, but today is served cool.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

4 large egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine

4 small strawberries (optional)

4 mint leaves (optional)

1. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala in the top of a double boiler. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, whisking the egg mixture all the while. Continue until well blended, thick, and frothy, 3 to 4 minutes after the water starts to boil. Remove from the heat immediately.

2. Pour into 4 wine or martini glasses and place in a refrigerator for a few hours. Garnish with strawberries and mint leaves, if desired.

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Posted: 05/05/2009