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Zeppolle and Zabaglione, circa 1570

Medieval Zeppole and Zabaglione

Thoughts:

In my ongoing quest to prove that medieval food is not gross, I knew I had to try these two recipes. I discovered the cookbook of Bartolomeo Scappi this summer at a medieval food lab (yep, I’m a dork), and was so diverted by the wonderful recipes in the book that I quickly added a few of them to my queue. You can check out the cookbook itself on Google Books, here.

Although Scappi provides much more detail about his methods of cooking, as well as proportions for ingredients, these recipes fought back a little. It took a few tries, and even now, I’ll probably take another crack at them to try and perfect the recipes. For those unfamiliar with these dishes, they are traditional Italian desserts. Zeppole are like little fried doughnut holes, and Zabaglione is like a thick alcoholic pudding. While I knew they were traditional, I didn’t know they dated so far back as 1570. I imagine they might even go back to Ancient Rome… I’ll take a look.

Medieval Zeppole from Scappi

Medieval Zeppole, from Scappi

As mentioned, the Zeppole need a little work. I followed the recipe very closely, and met with some difficulties. I boiled the chickpeas and chestnuts, which seems now unnecessary, unless you are using dried chestnuts.  The yeast was not sufficient to leaven the dough, so I added the six egg whites suggested at the end of the original recipe, which helped fluff the fritters up. I ground up the nuts myself, which made for a lumpy sort of dough that was prone to falling apart without the eggs. These were the many trials I struggled with in the process of working through this recipe. In the future, I would use a variety of nut flours, rather than the coarsely ground nuts I had, which should result in a more cooperative dough.

Medieval Zabaglione, from Scappi

Medieval Zabaglione, from Scappi

The Zabaglione, on the other hand, is wonderful. Rich and boozy, it’s also somehow also light and fluffy, somewhere between a custard and a mousse. The modern version tends to be plainer, but I love the traditional addition of the cinnamon, which gives it a nice spiciness. This recipe took me two tries to get right, but once I did, it’s an instant house favorite. I omitted the water the second time, and the mixture fluffed up beautifully, just the way it ought to.

One very cool thing about these two recipes is that they are so complimentary. One uses six egg yolks, the other the whites. The flavors and textures go well together, and the result is a tasty dessert pairing worthy of any dinner party.

Medieval Zeppole and Zabaglione

Zeppole Recipe

Makes around 2 dozen small fritters.      Time: around 1 hour

Cook’s Note: I’m putting in the recipe as I made it, but plan to revisit and improve in the coming month or so. You’ll have an easier time if you just use nut flours rather than trying to grind the nuts yourself. Be sure to check back for the update!

Zeppole Ingredients:

  • 1 15 oz. can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
  • 6 oz. chestnuts, shelled
  • 6 oz. walnuts, shelled
  • 4 oz. sugar
  • 1 Tbs. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. combined cloves and nutmeg
  • dash of rosewater
  • optional seasonings: mint, marjoram, burnet, wild thyme
  • 6 egg whites
  • oil or fat for frying (I used Crisco)
  • cinnamon sugar, for dusting

Wash the chickpeas, removing any of the outer skins that peel off. Boil the chickpeas and chestnuts in a light meat broth for 20-30 minutes, until the chestnuts are soft. Strain, then grind together the chickpeas, chestnuts, and walnuts until you have a relatively fine meal or paste. Add the sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, followed by the yeast mixture. If you like, add in some minced herbs to taste. Stir in the egg whites. 

Bring your oil to medium heat. Using a spoon, scoop out about two tablespoons of the batter at a time. gently drop this mixture into the hot oil. They should sink to the bottom of the pan, but then rise to the top as they cook (you may need to loosen them up if they stick to the bottom). Fry for about a minute, until the fritters are a dark golden brown. It may take some time to get the hang of this part, but keep trying!

When the fritters are done, remove to a plate covered with paper towels to drain. Brush each fritter with rosewater and roll in cinnamon sugar.

Zabaglione Recipe

Makes about 6 small servings       Time: ~20 minutes

Zabaglione Ingredients: 

  • 6 egg yolks
  • 6 oz. sweet malmsey
  • 3 oz. sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 4 oz. water
  • butter

Combine six egg yolks with the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk briskly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture looks like a very pale yellow cream. Add the white wine, whisk to combine, then place the mixture in a bowl over a double boiler, and whisk while it cooks until it is the consistency of a thick pudding. Carefully remove from heat (the bowl is hot!) and stir in the butter. Serve warm, as in the original instructions, or pour into serving dishes and chill for a thicker set.

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16 Responses

  1. huntfortheverybest says
    August 29, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    very interesting!

    Reply
  2. myfaireldy says
    August 29, 2013 at 1:40 pm

    This looks like it would be delicious! I’m going to dig through my cupboards and see if I have everything so I can try this.

    Reply
  3. Karen says
    August 29, 2013 at 8:44 pm

    In the zeppole recipe quantities I don’t see yeast. I also don’t see any mention off egg whites. Sorry if this is just poor reading comprehension on my part! I’m really looking forward to trying this.

    Reply
    • Chelsea M-C says
      August 29, 2013 at 8:46 pm

      Sorry about that! I took out the yeast (since it didn’t work), but forgot to add the egg whites. :)

      Reply
  4. Michael Kingery says
    August 29, 2013 at 9:35 pm

    Alton Brown covered Zabaglione in an episode of Good Eats about cooking with wine. I believe he used marsala

    Reply
    • Michael Kingery says
      August 29, 2013 at 9:37 pm

      Bonus: You can take your completed Zabaglione for a turn in your ice cream machine for some tasty boozy ice cream

      Reply
  5. Nathan Schattman says
    September 1, 2013 at 1:56 pm

    Always good to have another use for madeira.

    Reply
  6. Zazzy says
    September 6, 2013 at 7:11 am

    zepoelle sound a lot like sfinci

    Reply
  7. Adam Greenfield says
    September 12, 2013 at 12:44 pm

    Wonderful culinary adventures Chelsea! Very admiring and proud of all you are doing. Hope to see you soon.

    Reply
  8. deana says
    September 16, 2013 at 12:01 pm

    Fun watching your mind work. Recipes of this vintage can be daunting. One might intuit that adding yeast to something without flour would just cause it to ferment. Also, texture from a mortar and pestle is different from that of a food processor. I have often tried a spice grinder to smooth it. You have certainly made me want to try the recipe to see if I can coax it’s secrets! Great work on the project. We are definitely of like minds…

    Reply
  9. JMH says
    September 23, 2013 at 12:00 am

    I just made the Zeppolle and I have to say they are wonderful. I diverged from your recipe a bit in that I used almond flour and coarse ground walnuts for the batter. Personally I fond them plenty good without the dusting sugar. In fact I think one of their better points is that they aren’t particularly sweet after frying. I accompanied them with freshly whipped cream and they were absolutely fantastic! This is the second of the medieval recipes you’ve posted that I’ve made and both have been superb. Keep up the great work!

    Reply
  10. Ferrer Sanchez de Movellan says
    October 16, 2013 at 8:56 am

    Sorry but i have a doubt with the quantity of the garbanzo beans for zepolle. (i’m from spain and we used metrical sistem, so perhaps it’s just a math error,).

    ¿It’s really 115 Oz. of Garbanzo beans, or perhaps it’s a mistake and its only 15? Because 115 Oz. seems a lot of garbanzo beans to me… (this it’s is more than 3 kilogrames!!)

    And a second doubt: these garbanzo beans are “dry”, or those that are previously boiled?

    thanks.

    Reply
    • ♥Leiram says
      October 26, 2013 at 5:10 pm

      La receta dice que necesitas una lata de quince onzas de garbanzos… hay un espacio entre el 1 y el 15 pero no es muy notable debido a la letra que ha usado la autora.

      Espero que esto le haya ayudado! :)

      Reply
    • Chris Knutson says
      October 30, 2013 at 2:35 am

      It’s one 15 ounce can. I had to look closely too. Since they are canned, they would be in liquid.

      Reply
  11. Marina says
    December 5, 2013 at 2:32 am

    My family makes savory zeppole for Christmas Eve every year! They’re absolutely delicious! It’s so cool seeing it on here!

    Reply
  12. erinah says
    January 6, 2015 at 2:07 pm

    Zabaglione comes to us from Franciscan friar (and later Saint) Paschal Baylon (1540–1592) who is believed to have introduced it as a medicinal tonic for “vigor” to the desperate housewives of Torino, Italy where he was undergoing his apostolate in the parish of St. Thomas. How it came to him is a matter for further research, but his original recipe is measured with egg-shells in a 1:2:2:1 ration of egg yolks, sugar, marsala wine and water. It even came to be called after him as it spread out of Italy following his canonization: San Bajon to L’sanbajon and later in France to Zabaione.

    Reply

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