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
Almost Instant Lemoncello
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.
Cold and snowy weekend up here in Northern Finland.
I love to read your chat posts, Karon. You’re such a good writer as well as photographer. Please go on letting us have a peek at the country life on Walton’s Mountain.
Have a relaxing Christmas time with family and friends,
Paivi xx
Thankyou Paivi
It means so much to hear from you and know you enjoy the blog and chat so much.
Have a lovely Christmas
K x
I love your chats about your life and what is going on in your beautiful surroundings. You have such a beautiful way of telling your stories, and your photography skills are top notch! Thank you for letting us take a peak at your interesting life. Thanks so much ,Karon for all you do!
Patti xxoo
Thanks Patti for the lovely comment. I shall continue chatting!
Have a lovely Christstmas
K x
I love this idea and I am going to be including this in my gift hampers for friends, but how long will it last? Some of my friends aren’t big drinker and I dont want it to go mouldy on them
Thanks
Sam
Hi Sam
This will keep for up to 6 months, so should be fine for those gift baskets.
Glad you like the recipe.
K x
Can you buy this in the grocery store or liquor store?
Thanks
Hi Gayle,
Yes you can buy commercially made lemoncello in bigger grocery stores and liquor stores etc. Make your own tho, it is so easy and tastes great.
yes but make it yourself
I’m excited to try this but I have a (possibly dumb) question. The directions say to mix the vodka, peel and juice with water and then you also make the simple syrup with water….why would you mix the vodka with water? would that not dilute a lot since it is double the amount of water to vodka? I appreciate the help, just want to make sure I’m getting it right 🙂
you are only using 125ml of water for the simple syrup. Use less water in mix if you wish.
I”m assuming you mean the juice of the 3 lemons? If not, let me know right away, please. 🙂
yes 3 lemons
K x