Sabayon

While they’re working on my kitchen, I had no idea how much I would miss cooking. It’s not just because cooking and baking are what I do work-wise, but the ritual of going to the market in Paris and buying whatever catches my eye has become an integral part of my life. When I see lemons from Provence with their leaves attached or the first shiny-crimson strawberries of spring, it’s hard to not stop and buy some when I know I could (or should) be at home making a tangy lemon tart or fixing myself a nice bowl of berries for breakfast in the morning.

Since I don’t even have a whisk at the moment (even though I have about ten stored somewhere in all my boxes…) I went out and bought one just to make something, because I was going a little berserk. Proving that you don’t need an arsenal of fancy equipment – or even a whole bunch of hard-to-get ingredients – I decided to whip up a batch of frothy sabayon to spoon over some strawberries I picked up at the Barbès market.

There’s nothing hard or fancy about making sabayon; you just stand there and whip and whip and whip. Traditionally, zabaglione, the Italian version of sabayon, is made with Marsala – and to make it, all that’s really needed is a bowl, a pot of water, and a whisk. In terms of ingredients, you can use any sweet or dry white wine, even sparkling wine, as a base. For this batch, I used a gently spritzy Italian white wine, a Moscato d’Asti, which is slightly sweet but not overly so, and used it to pile over strawberries that I let macerate in sugar for a while to draw out their flavors and juices.

The best way to whip up frothy mixtures is not to just stir in a circular motion with a whisk and pray for the best before your arm falls off. But one should make figure-eights with a whisk, which creates a lot more bubbles and froth. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to make, but be sure not to stop whisking while the sabayon is on the heat or you might end up with bits of scrambled eggs. If you have a hand mixer, you can use that as well, although I kind of like whisking as it makes me feel like I’m working for my reward.

Since this is a warm dessert, it needs to be made just before serving, which is part of the fun. I don’t mind heading to the kitchen and engaging in a bit of furious whipping. And I don’t think guests mind hearing the clang of the whisk against to bowl coming from a kitchen, because from the smell, they will likely know something good is going to come from it soon.

Related Links and Recipes

Zabaglione (Simply Recipes)

Goat Cheese Custard with Strawberries

Fraises de bois

Strawberry Granita

Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream

Rhubarb-Strawberry Jam

Recipes to Use Up Leftover Egg Whites