Sgroppino al limone is not a sorbet, though it features lemon sorbet as a main ingredient. Sgroppino al limone is also not a cocktail, though vodka and prosecco are essential. And finally, sgroppino al limone is not a dessert, though it tastes wonderful after a full meal – especially during the warmer months of the year. Sgroppino al limone is not any of these things, but then again it is… plus so much more.
It arrives in a champagne flûte, to clean the palate between courses of fish and meat, with alcohol. In fact, the base is a lemon sorbet (just blended water, lemon and sugar), but it also features the addition of milk and alcohol (these days, we use vodka) and prosecco. In the Veneto region, they call it sgroppìn. In Milan, they call it sgroppino. And even if most people associate this particular palate-cleanser with nostalgia for the 1980s, the recipe has truly ancient roots. Traces of the sgroppino were even found at 16th-century banquets – when ice was a real luxury. The custom for serving it as an intermezzo, or ‘palate cleanser’ in English, is very typically Italian. In France, on the other hand, it was served as a dessert and they call it a coupé colonel – and apart from the fact that it’s served in scoops, it’s always made from sorbet and vodka.
How to make sgroppino al limone at home
To make the classic recipe at home, add 2 scoops lemon sorbet to a blender with 2 tbsp prosecco and 1 shot vodka. For a creamier texture, add 3 tbsp whole milk or use lemon ice cream instead of sorbet. Blend and serve immediately.
The chef's version
Famous Italian Chef Carlo Cracco is Milanese by adoption, though born in Veneto. For the occasion of the gastronomic event for Identità Golose 2019, whose theme was “Building New Memories,” star chef Carlo Cracco made a gourmet version of the classic sgroppino. "It’s become a sort of Japanese sgroppino. We made traditional sorbet with water, lemon juice and sugar. Instead of working with prosecco, we added chopped shiso leaves, saké and fragrant yuzu juice. A recipe sweetened with acacia honey – with which you’ll use to brush the glass. On the border of the glass, there’s some caper powder to give a touch of salt that helps with salivation. Because even for gourmets, the sgroppino’s final goal is to help digestion – or so we like to think, since there is no real scientific basis.”
A few extra tips for your sgroppino
Inspired by Chef Cracco’s innovation, here are a few more suggestions:
- Add a couple of basil leaves to the blender and garnish with basil.
- For the mojito version of sgroppino, replace the lemon sorbet with lime sorbet and add a couple of mint leaves to the blender.
- Replace prosecco with Japanese saké.
- Replace the lemon sorbet with mandarin sorbet and grind some pink pepper onto the glass.
- Replace the vodka with limoncello.