Sunshine in a drink

It's Limoncello and I'm making it with some of the lemons off our tree.

The tree has gone crazy this year...too many lemons just for tarts and cakes and curd...so Limoncello it is

This recipe yields about 2 litres, but I'm starting with just one litre....it's an easy thing to make but it's a long process so I thought I'd post the results in stages so we can do it together if you like

Ingredients for 2 litres of Limoncello

- 10 lemons
- 1 kg of sugar
- 1 litre vodka- 
- 1 litre of water

Grate the lemons with a fine grater and put the zest in a couple of jars with lids. Pour in the vodka and close the containers tightly, letting the mix rest for 15 days in the dark. Make sure you shake it every two days to help distribute the flavour

At this stage, the alcohol will remove all the colour and scent from the lemon zest.

Pretty easy huh?

See, it's cloudy already

I'm yet to make the syrup, but here's the recipe in case you'd like to get started on it

To prepare the syrup... juice the zested lemons, add 1 litre of water and the sugar and mix together in a pot. Bring it to the boil then let simmer for a few minutes till it thickens a little and resembles a syrup. Let it cool and refrigerate

After 15 days, it’s time to mix the lemony alcohol with the syrup. Put all the liquid in a large container or bottles and let stand for another day

Time to drain the Limoncello into sterilised bottles. Use a funnel lined with cheesecloth to make sure you remove all the zest

Seal the bottles, put them in a dark place or fridge and let sit for another month...then drink...on Christmas Day!!

I know there are recipes around that don't use the juice of the lemons, but I thought I'd try it this way, for a change