Personal

Car Stuff

Extras

Limoncello

Keep it in the freezer!

This is from the food section of the San Francisco Chronicle of several
months ago and http://italianfood.about.com/food/italianfood/library/rec/blr0321.htm.:

15 thick-skinned lemons (Eureka, Lisbon or Citron)
2 bottles (750 ml each) of the best 100 proof Vodka
4 1/2 cups sugar
5 cups water

Wash the lemons in hot water before you start. Remove the peel with a
vegetable peeler, removing all white pith on the back of the peel by
scraping with a knife, and put the peels in a 4-quart Mason jar.

Add 1 bottle of Vodka and stir. Cover the jar, date it, and put it to rest
in a dark cabinet at room temperature.

After 40 days, take out the lemon-Vodka mixture. Ina sauce pan set over high
heat, stir the sugar and water together and boil for 5 minutes. Let the
sugar syrup cool completely in the pan, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar
syrup to the lemon-Vodka mixture along with the second bottle of Vodka.

Stir well to combine. Replace the cover on the jar and note the finish date.
Return it to the dark cabinet and store for 40 more days.

At day 80, remove the limoncello from the cabinet. Strain the mixture and
discard the lemon peel.

Pour into clean, unused bottles with caps or decorative corked bottles.
Store the bottles in the pantry, but put one bottle at a time in the freezer
until ready to use.

Makes approximately 3 quarts. Cristina (Siena, RFC June 2000)

Torta al Limoncello (Limoncello Tart)

By Gino D'Acampo
Serves 8

300g pastry mixture (bought or home-made)
2 medium unwaxed lemons
4 tbls double cream
100g ground almonds
200g of sugar
10 tbls limoncello liqueur
5 whole eggs
10 plums (cut into wedges)
120g butter (melted)

1. Fold the sweet pastry into a buttered tart tin (approx. 25cm diameter). Let it rest in the refrigerator over night.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 180º. Line the pastry with grease proof paper, cover with baking beans and blind-bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool before removing the paper and beans.

3. In a large bowl grate the peel of the lemons with their juice. Add the cream, almonds, sugar, eggs and butter and with a hand blender mix together to a smooth paste. Stir in the Limoncello.

4. Place the plums on the bottom of the pastry and then spread the mixture on top. Bake in a pre-heated oven of 180C for approx. 20 minutes. Allow to cool and decorate with a thick layer of icing sugar

Limoncello syllabub with lemon sugar

Makes 10

125g raspberries
50ml limoncello, plus extra
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
50g golden caster sugar
284ml carton double cream
2 tbsp Greek yogurt

1. Divide the raspberries between 10 shot glasses, topping each with a little of the extra limoncello.

2. Grind the lemon zest with 3 tablespoons of the caster sugar in a mortar and pestle until fine.

3. In a large bowl, whip the cream with 50ml limoncello until soft peaks form. Add half the zest mixture and the remaining sugar, then fold in with the yogurt. Spoon the cream over the raspberries and sprinkle with remaining lemon sugar to serve.