Zabaione
This luscious, velvet-textured zabaione is made in 10 minutes and only requires a bowl, a whisk and a pan of simmering water; simplicity at its finest, this dessert allows the ingredients to show...
Summer Zabaione
Creating delicious memories with sparkling wine and a simple summer custard
Island summers: is there anything quite like them? Farmers’ markets and backyards alike overflow with fresh figs, rhubarb and all the berries you could desire. Oceanside picnics, Saturday afternoons enjoying a local vineyard’s wine tasting, friends gathering for brunch on a patio—I love connecting food and memories together, as delicious memories always seem more tangible and vivid.
While wandering through Blue Grouse’s vineyard estate, I start dreaming of what to create with their delicious wines and the berries sweating in the back seat of my car from the morning farmers’ market visit. I find myself reminiscing about my family’s vineyard and olive grove in Italy. On a hot summer evening, only one dessert was served (always outside on the veranda and usually after enjoying wood-fired pizza): creamy zabaione, a fluffy custard made with local wine and spooned over juicy berries. With cherry and fig trees and berries growing abundantly in the yard, I was tasked with climbing a tree to pick the fruit while my aunt went inside to prepare the custard. We would both arrive back at the table at the same time, me with handfuls of berries and her with a bowl of the most luscious, velvet-textured zabaione. After tasting Blue Grouse’s Paula Sparkling with its bright acidity and notes of green apple along with a light effervesce and creamy finish, I know it’s the perfect match for the sun-soaked berries and custard to come.
The complexity found in so many Island sparkling wines emulates the complexity in terroir that our Island has to offer. Unsworth Vineyards’ Charme de L’Île, created from a blend of cool climate grapes, creates a fruit-forward dry sparkling wine. Rathjen Cellars Sparkling Rosé is wild fermented for both fermentations and created with Saanich Peninsula-grown Pinot Noir grapes. The result is a juicy, bright flavour with notes of ruby grapefruit, watermelon and rhubarb. And I could go on—there is an Island sparkling wine for every palate and every table.
No matter which wine you choose for your delicious summer memory, this three-ingredient custard is sure to satisfy. Using sparkling wine for zabaione is a unique and delicious option; it also takes a few minutes off the whisking time to create the rich custard, as the bubbles do the heavy lifting of aerating the egg yolk at a molecular level. It is made in 10 minutes and only requires a bowl, a whisk and a pan of simmering water; simplicity at its finest, this dessert allows the ingredients to showcase their true selves. As the custard only uses ¼ cup of wine, it’s best to share the leftover bubbly while enjoying spoonsful of this simple, delicious summer dessert and creating delicious memories on this incredible Island we call home.
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