Z is for … Zabaglione
Well, we got there. Five years after the first A made its appearance (for Avocado in July 2020) we've reached the end. The end of lap one, that is. It's been incredibly useful to have as a filler when nothing obvious comes to mind. The On The Side slot is definitely the one which causes the most problems.
There was little point in setting a guess the letter quiz, as options are strictly limited. Being British ruled out zucchini. Zest was a possibility, but beyond that we were in the realms of the esoteric (eg, zampone, zarzuela and zakuski to name but three).
Sometimes spelt zabaione, it's a concoction of egg yolks, sugar and sweet wine. The French equivalent is sabayon. That's essentially the same dish, but in France it is more likely to be savoury, a variation on a mousseline sauce. That in turn is a version of Hollandaise made with cream. A classic version of sabayon is made with Champagne and used as a sauce for fish or shellfish. The more common use of our hero is a dessert.
Either way it's a bit fiddly and can go wrong. I'm therefore astonished to recall that I first made this in my early 20s, having invited a young lady to dinner. It was successful in one way. It turned out right and the lady in question still talks about it, though I do have to report that she left my house with her virtue intact.
Where does it originate? You won't be surprised to learn that there are a good few theories. In the early days it seems to have been used as a tonic for people who were poorly, or a morning pick me up. I'm always suspicious of something with booze intended for consumption first thing. You will no doubt recall a famous quote from Bertie Wooster, I couldn't face my breakfast. I told Jeeves to drink it himself.
Piedmont (north west Italy) has been suggested. The wine most commonly used these days is Marsala, which comes from Sicily; however some recipes do call for Moscato Passito, which is Piedmontese. Where the legend starts to get silly is in the suggestion that a 15th century Piedmontese general invented it as a morale booster for his soldiers. Doesn't quite tie in with our stereotype of military discipline in the old days.
The Larousse Gastronomique states that the name comes from a word in the Neapolitan dialect, zapillare, meaning to foam. As Naples is 550 miles south of the Piedmont capital Turin, one suspects they can't both be right. The final theory turns to Catherine of Medici. Remember her from a couple of weeks ago and the Béchamel sauce story? So, in short, I don't think anyone knows.
Writing this, it occurs to me that I can't remember when I last saw zabaglione on a menu. I'll give you the recipe in Tom Cooks! on Friday. It can be served plain, or simply with biscotti or sponge fingers. I find it a little rich on its own, and being served over berries does, I think, improve it. There are very few classic dishes which weren't "improved" in the 60s by the addition of cream, and our hero has suffered that fate. There is, however, a rather nice iced parfait version which I'll share.
The booze used can obviously be altered, and I have no issues with that, but when you start to add coffee and sponge, isn't there a danger that you're just approaching tiramisu from another angle? Still, as that dessert translates as pull me up, I guess it could be a case of what goes around comes around.
More on Friday.