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Zabaglione (Marsala or Wine Egg Custard)
Zabaglione,
also called zabaione, zavajon or zavagion, is claimed to
have been invented in various times and placings, including in the court of
the Medici in 16th Century in Florence and, alternatively, the Piedmont.
This dessert is classified as a "caudle" rather than a custard or a mousse.
A "caudle" is a sauce used as a custard to fill pies or tarts. The original
pre-sixteenth century version was a drink made of wine or ale thickened with
egg yolks.
It is a simple Italian dessert
made of egg yolks, sugar and Marsala wine. The warm froth can be served
either as a dessert by itself or as a sauce over cake, fruit, ice cream or
pastry. In France it's called sabayon or sabayon sauce. Variations include
the addition of whipped egg whites to lighten the dish, as well as a frozen
version.
The only trick to making
zabaglione is to know when to stop cooking it. The consistency should be
that of a light, fluffy custard. If cooked too long, the egg yolks will
solidify into lumps. At the first sign of anything resembling sticking to
the bottom of the pan, remove from the heat and serve.
Zabaglione is usually
served with sugar cookies, bitter almond cookies, French pastries and even
strawberries. If you are not a purist and cannot find marsala wine, you may
substitute some other sweet wine or liqueur or even rum for some of the
recipes. You can use a hand beater for this recipe, but an electric beater
is preferable because the yolks and sugar must be extremely well beaten.
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The Sainted Sweet of Piedmont
Zabaglione
is a featherweight foamy dessert from Piedmont. It is created with egg
yolks, which are lightly sweetened and flavored with wine — in Piedmont, a
red wine like Barolo is used, but elsewhere, Marsala is the wine of choice —
and then whipped with frenzy into a delicious emulsion that's served with
cookies or fruit.
Of the various legends about this fabulous
treat's creation, I prefer to believe one that credits a Franciscan monk of
Torino named Pasquale Baylon. After enduring many women's confessional
complaints of matrimonial neglect, he is said to have created this
confection to give husbands enhanced physical vigor. I'm not sure how he
earned canonization otherwise, but San Baylon has been the patron saint of
Torino's pastry chefs since 1722. His marital-aid dessert is known as
sanbayon or zabaione (Piedmontese dialect for the sainted
monk's name), spelled
zabaglione in proper Italian.
In addition to restoring vitality, zabaglione
has the great virtues of requiring neither hours nor a shelf full of
ingredients to prepare. I learned to cook it from master chef Cesare
Giaccone, of Da Cesare restaurant in Albaretto della Torre, who makes the
best version I've ever tasted. He gave two important rules. First: "Always
use an odd number of yolks." (All other recipes that I've seen call for four
or six.) Second: "Work over a hot flame and forget about the
bain marie." This goes against everything I've read about zabaglione
preparation, which stresses the importance of the water-bath technique to
avoid curdling. Cesare's proportions are simple: for each egg yolk, a
spoonful of sugar and a splash of Moscato d'Asti (a less effervescent
relative of Asti Spumante, it's a delicately floral wine, without the
cloying taste of Marsala).
Well, it sounds easy enough, but watching Cesare
in action, whisking in a round-bottomed copper pot directly over a hot
flame, is to witness pure culinary ballet. If you try his recipe at home,
make it first for yourself (or maybe one lucky friend). Moving eggs on and
off heat takes some practice, but when you get it right, even just three
yolks will yield an unbelievably large reward.
Da Cesare, via San Bernardo 9, Albaretto della
Torre; tel. 39-0173-520-141, fax 39-0173-520-147.
March 19, 1998
— Faith Heller Willinger
Source:
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La Storia
Tra le vecchie specialità della cucina
piemontese, cucina che non ha nulla da invidiare e nulla da temere dalle
analoghe consorelle delle altre regioni italiane, vi è lo zabaglione ('L
Sanbajon).
Fra' Pasquale de Baylon (1540-1592), del Terzo
Ordine dei Francescani, approdato a Torino per il suo apostolato presso la
Parrocchia di San Tommaso, consigliava alle sue penitenti (specialmente a
quelle che si lamentavano della poca vivacità del consorte) una sua ricetta
che, sintetizzata in 1+2+2+1, avrebbe dato vigore e forza al soggetto.
Santificato nel 1680 da Papa Alessandro VIII
entrò rapidamente nella leggenda, tanto che le donne torinesi tra di loro si
scambiavano e consigliavano la sua ricetta per beneficiare del miracolo del
Santo Pasquale de Baylon, il cui nome, in dialetto torinese, fu subito
abbreviato in San Bajon (o=u).
Nacque così a Torino 'L Sanbajon, in seguito
italianizzato in Zabaione o Zabaglione.
Questa ricetta varcò i confini sabaudi e venne, col tempo, conosciuta in
tutto il mondo.
'L Sanbajon è citato nel Dizionario Piemontese
-Italiano del Cav. Vittorio Felice di Sant'Albino (edito a Torino nel 1859
con i tipi della Unione Tipografica-Editrice) e venne già presentato nella
edizione del Cuoco Piemontese (stampato a Torino nel 1766) che fu il grande
successo editoriale di quell'epoca.
San Pasquale de Baylon è, dal 1722, il Santo
Protettore di tutti i Cuochi del mondo; la sua festa è il 17 maggio ed è
venerato in Torino nella chiesa di San Tommaso in Via Pietro Micca.
Un suo ritratto è collocato nel coro della
Chiesa del Monte dei Cappuccini a Torino.
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Created: Wednesday, January 20, 1999. Last Updated:
Friday, September 30, 2022
Copyright © 1998
IstriaNet.org, USA
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