Sgroppino: the recipe of the Italian lemon digestive

Sgroppino is a lemon cocktail very common in Northern Italy, especially in Veneto region, where it is known as sgropin. This term derives from sgropparsi which means "to digest" or "to untie your stomach". Perfect at the end of a meal, it is usually served in a champagne flûte to cleanse the palate after meat or fish dishes, or tasted as a digestive during holidays or family lunches. It is a drink similar to lemon sorbet, but it differs for the addition of alcohol: to make the Sgroppino you need lemon ice cream, vodka and prosecco. The preparation is very easy, here are all the steps.

How to make Sgroppino

Put the lemon ice cream in the blender, add the prosecco and vodka and process for 1 minute in order to whip it slightly. At the end you will get a smooth and soft cream.

Pour the sgroppino in a flute and serve it immediately with a slice of lemon and some mint leaves.

Alternatively, pour it in a bottle and keep it in the freezer: take it out of the freezer one hour before serving, shake the bottle in order to mix all ingredients and pour it in a flûte.

Tips

– The lemon ice cream should not be too cold: take it out of the freezer 10 minutes before preparation.

– Instead of ice cream, you can also use lemon sorbet and add a little milk or liquid cream.

– Place the blender jug in the freezer half an hour before making the sgroppino, so it doesn't get too hot during preparation.

– If you prefer a more alcoholic preparation, use only the vodka.

– If you want to serve the Sgroppino to children, make it separately, using only the lemon ice cream.

– Serve the Sgroppino with long-handled spoons to make the presentation more elegant.

– The Sgroppino should be served immediately, once it has been poured into the flûte: after a short while, in fact, the alcoholic part tends to separate from the ice cream.