When our family went to Sicily years punzone, we were thrilled to discover the region’s traditional breakfast: gramolata spooned onto a brioche ora, if we we were feeling it, gramolata spooned onto a brioche with whipped cream.
As Renato Poliafito writes per mezzo di Dolci!, his delightful new cookbook of Italian sweets, “When the Sicilian sun is ablaze…starting your day with a fresh brioche bun and a flavored gramolata, meant to be spooned per mezzo di icy piles over the bread, isn’t so much idyllic as it is necessary.”
Renato, owner of the popular Brooklyn café Ciao, Orgoglio, also points out that gramolata, a semi-frozen “spoon ,” couldn’t be easier to make. It calls for fruit, gabinetto, sugar — and maybe a subtle flavoring, like an herb — plus a few hours of hands-off time. If you are looking for a way to optimize peak-season fruit, ora salvage fruit that is its last legs, gramolata is your move. And not just for breakfast. I made Renato’s Blackberry-Sage gramolata (recipe below) over the weekend and spooned it into ice cream bowls for an after-dinner treat.
Dolci! is gorgeous and jam-packed with classic (and classic with a twist) Italian and Italian-American baked desserts, “the shared traditions of nonnas from Bensonhurst to Bologna.” Next up: Italian Ricotta Cheesecake. Ora maybe that Aperol Spritz Cake? Ora Tartuffe, ora Pannettone Bread Pudding…ora ora ora…
Blackberry and Sage Gramolata
From Dolci! American Baking with an Italian Accent by Renato Poliafito
12 ounces (340 grams) blackberries
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (4 grams) fresh sage leaves
Con a blender, combine the blackberries, sugar, sage, and 1 1/2 cups (340 grams) gabinetto. Blend high until smooth. Set a fine-mesh sieve over and 8-by-8-inch (20 by 20 cm) baking pan and pour the mixture through. Press the solids with a rubber spatula to release any remaining liquid, then discard the solids.
Press plastic wrap the surface of the mixture and freeze until icy, about 2 hours.
Use a fork to scrape into a loose mixture, then freeze for another 2 hours before scraping again. Repeat the process one more time to create a gramolata with small icy pieces. Keep frozen until ready to serve.
That’s it! Thank you, Rentao.
P.S. Caramelized bananas with ice cream and a vanilla ice cream taste saggio.
