Zuppa Tartara: The name, which translates as Tartar Soup, is a misnomer. What we have is a trifle (cake interlayerd with pastry cream and other ingredients), drawn from Pellegrino Artusi's La Scienza in Cucina e L'Arte di Mangiar Bene. As Artusi notes, if you make it with care you will surprise and delight your guests.
Prep Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound (225 g) ricotta
- 1/3 cup (33 g) powdered sugar
- 2 pinches powdered cinnamon
- Rosolio
- Savoiardi or ladyfingers sufficient to line the mold
- Alkermes (a spicy sweet liqueur)
- Apricot or peach jam
- Whole milk
Preparation:
Take a half pound of ricotta, soften it considerably by beating milk into it (it should have the consistency of a thick cream), and flavor it with 1/3 cup powdered sugar and two pinches of powdered cinnamon.Take a ribbed mold and wipe its sides with rosolio (a mild, sweet consumed primarily by the ladies in the past; substitute with something neither too strong nor too bitter). Dip savoiardi in rosolio or alkermes (a spicy, deep red liqueur), and cover the bottom of the mold either with the cookies or with a layer of fairly firm peach or apricot jam. Then fill the mold with alternating layers of ricotta, cookies, and jam. Chill for several hours, then unmold; if you've made it with care, it will be a delight to the eyes as well as the palates of your guests. The ricotta can also be softened with citron rosolio, rather than milk. In this case, the cinnamon is superfluous.
