Truth be told, our recipe selection process is usually driven by necessity and expediency, (i.e. “What can we serve for dinner this week?” or “Yikes, 15 people are coming over for Thanksgiving in 3 days!”). However, back in December we had a lot of lemons and felt the need to shake things up a bit, to depart from seasonal turkeys and eggnog and the daily in-the-trenches cooking. With an eye toward Spring and the bright colors and fresh flavors that come with it, we decided to make limoncello. Clearly, this is not a recipe for the entire family, but rather one that takes the adults, at least, back to a simpler time, before consuming responsibilities and crazy schedules rendered the casual sippping of an after dinner drink completely out of the question.
During those easygoing days, we both had the good fortune to travel to Sorrento, Italy, where limoncello is produced from oversized, bumpy lemons grown in groves covering the steep coastal hillsides. If you have been to Italy you may have fond memories of small, chilled glasses of the tart-sweet liqueur served on warm summer nights and then, later, before rushing to the train station you might have shoved a couple of bright yellow bottles into a pair of I-just-had-to have-them Italian leather boots or wrapped them in a newly acquired Italian football jersey so they won't shatter in the suitcase on the way home.
Since we can't travel to Italy very often these days, this simple recipe allows us to make our own limoncello whenever the mood strikes us. We're not so sure that we can make the claim that a mixture of 100 proof vodka, sugar and lemon peel is healthy (though perhaps medicinal on some level) like many of our recipes, but it will give you a good excuse to slow down for a while and smell the lemons. If you find that, despite all your best efforts, you won't be able to consume a quart or two of potent lemon liqueur, small personalized bottles of this liquid sunshine make for lovely hostess gifts during the Spring and Summer.
15 lemons
8 1/2 cups of 100 proof vodka, divided
4 cups sugar
5 cups water
juice from 1 1emon
1. Wash and peel lemons removing the pith. Only the yellow rind should be used. Place lemon peel in jar with half of the vodka. Cover and store in a dark place for 40 days.
2. After 40 days, bring sugar and water to a boil and allow to cool completely. (It is important that the sugar water syrup be cold when you add it to the lemon peel-vodka mixture, otherwise limoncello will be cloudy.) Add syrup mixture, remaining vodka and the lemon juice. Store another 40 days.
3. Strain and pour into clean bottles that can be well sealed. Serve chilled and store in the freezer.
Prep Time: 1 hour combined
Cook Time: 80 days
Total Time: 80 days and 1 hour
