Almost Instant Lemoncello is the perfect last minute gotta-make-something-fast type of foodie gift. Perfect for your Christmas hampers (or any others for that matter) or as a hostess giftif you are popping round for supper.

Sorry I haven’t been around much this week, things have been pretty busy of late in my little corner of the world. Monday was a BBC day and I was asked to talk about making up gift hampers and ideas for the sort of homemade goodies you can give. Right up my street for the Gourmet Gifts stuff of course and I wable to wax lyrical about the recipes in my book. Speaking of books, I received the most amazing compliments from the show’s host Fred MacAulay on my photography, he loved it and fairly made me blush (thank goodness it was radio!) when he said my pix were just as good as some of those coffee table type cook books he’d reviewed for the celebrity chefs. I was thrilled and glowed for the rest of the day. Anyway on to the hamper goodies. I wanted to take along something that wasn’t actually in the Gourmet Gifts For Christmas book (now available on Amazon Kindle) so took my Almost Instant Lemoncello. The idea was that the BBC would put all the recipes up on their web site that day, alas like all the best laid plans there was a computing glitch and I ended up innundated by emails from people wanting this lemoncello recipe. So, without further ado this is for Lindsey Easton and the others;

How To Make Almost Instant Lemoncello

3 lemons

500ml vodka

100g sugar

Scrub lemons well and pat dry to remove preservative wax. Peel off the rind avoiding bitter white pith.

Mix lemon peel, juice and vodka in large jar with 1 litre water.

Mix the sugar with 125ml water in a small pan bring slowly to the boil to dissolve sugar, allow to cool slightly and then add to the vodka jar.

Cover and set aside for 24 hours in a cool place.

Strain through muslin/cheesecloth or kitchen paper twice to ensure it is completely clear and pour into sterilised bottles.

Love lemons

Lemoncello is the taste of summer and I have made it before on the blog (homemade Lemoncello) as it is one of my favourite liqueurs, a real taste of sunshine. However this version is by far the quickest to make and when it comes to crafting for Christmas, this one is the business. You can quip this up and have it ready ‘almost instantly’ and after searching out a few pretty small bottles you could have a batch of prezzies ticked off the list immediately.

How to serve your Almost Instant Lemoncello

Serve your Almost Instant lemoncello ice cold either before or after a meal (traditionally the Italians like this as a digestif after a meal) in tiny shot glasses. I like to store both liqueur and shot glasses in the freezer for optimum chill factor. Or serve over ice, or if you like a tall drink add soda, ice and a slice of lemon.

If you are a cocktail fan then why not try a Lemoncello Martini and really feel like summer has come to pay a visit in these cold and wintery months when blue skies and sunshine seem like a million miles away.

All those who receive my newsletter will have got it this week. I asked for your views about my chat posts and I would appreciate your comments here. Do you like the chat posts about life here in the country, my visits to France, my animals and friends etc, or do you want to see more of just recipes and home hints etc..

Please comment here and let me know.

Have a lovely weekend.

Karon x

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Almost Instant Lemoncello

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: liqueurs

Author: Karon Grieve

Ingredients

• 3 lemons
• 500 ml vodka
• 100 g sugar

Instructions

• Scrub lemons well and pat dry to remove preservative wax. Peel off the rind avoiding bitter white pith.
• Mix lemon peel, juice and vodka in large jar with 1 litre water.
• Mix the sugar with 125ml water in a small pan and slowly bring to boil to dissolve sugar, allow to cool slightly and then add to the vodka jar.
• Cover and set aside for 24 hours in a cool place.
• Strain through muslin/cheesecloth or kitchen paper twice to ensure it is completely clear and pour into sterilised bottles.

Share some Larder Love...

Pinterest

Facebook

Twitter

email