Two ingredients, thirty seconds, and no cooking at all. Affogato means drowned: a shot of hot espresso poured over cold gelato. It is the most Italian thing you can serve without turning on a stove, and it is what to do when someone arrives unexpectedly.
What you need
Per person:
- 2 generous scoops of Il Gelato fior di latte or vanilla gelato
- 1 shot hot illy espresso
- Optional: a spoon of chopped toasted hazelnuts, or a splash of amaretto
Method
- Chill the glasses. Ten minutes in the freezer. A warm glass melts the gelato before the coffee gets near it.
- Scoop the gelato in and put the glasses back in the freezer while you make the coffee.
- Pull the espresso and pour it over immediately — at the table, in front of whoever is eating it. The moment the coffee hits is the whole dish, and it does not survive being carried from the kitchen.
- Serve with a spoon, not a straw. It is a dessert, not a drink.
Notes
The coffee has to be espresso. Filter coffee is too weak and too much liquid — you end up with soup. If you have no machine, a stovetop moka pot is what most Italian households actually use.
Fior di latte over vanilla. Vanilla competes with the coffee; plain milk gelato lets it through.
One scoop of gelato to one shot of coffee. More coffee than that and the gelato is gone before the second spoonful.