Got lemons? A home-made limoncello will do them justice

Remember that humungous bag of unwaxed, organic lemons that I was given a while back? Well, to say I've been up to my elbows in lemons would be a complete understatement. But I'm happy to announce that I'm almost at the end of the lemons, which in itself was a huge feat as that bag weighed close to eight kilos.

Hence, these past few weeks we've been feasting on lemon tart and breakfasting on fluffy, golden pancakes with lemon sugar. I've also made some of the most amazing lemon ice-cream ever and I pinky-promise to post the recipe soon. I've also made mountains of lemony cacik, baba ganoush and soft white cheese and walnut dip.

Although the highlight of my recent lemon stint has been making my very own limoncello. Not only was it dead easy to make, but it tasted just as good as the real stuff from Amalfi. So now that I'm confident with the process and quantities I'm going to get cracking on a dozen or so more bottles as I intend to hand them out as gifts at Christmas time.

Limoncello

Ensure that your lemons are organic, as the alcohol will extract everything from the rind into your limoncello. Typically lo sfusato lemons are used to make limoncello in Amalfi. I used organic, pesticide free, local Meyer lemons and my limoncello was divine!

Adapted from My Amalfi Coast

Ingredients

One 750 ml bottle of 100 proof Absolut Vodka or pure alcohol

The rind of 10 organic lemons, peeled or zested as close to the pith as possible

500 grams of caster sugar

600 ml just boiled water

Method

1. Put the lemon zest in a litre sized jar and pour the vodka over it. Soak the lemon rind in the vodka for 2 - 4 weeks and store in a cool dark place.

2. Dissolve the sugar in the just boiled water and allow to cool. Remove the lemon zest from the vodka and mix the remaining liquid with the sugar syrup.

3. Strain through a fine sieve and drink, preferably in small, chilled glasses. Store your limoncello in the freezer, that's if there is any left after the initial tasting!

Nanette Johnson is a food and travel writer from Australia and Editor-in-Chief for Gourmet Worrier. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter