Limoncello is the traditional Italian lemon-flavored liqueur made using lemon zest. Italians love to have limoncello as a dessert drink after pizza or fish. Limoncello is a lovely to drink chilled on a hot summer night and it is an excellent liqueur to be used in deserts, fruit salads or with ice cream.

Ingredients:

* 3 cups vodka

* 6 lemons (make sure they’re organic and not sprayed, you’re using the peel!)

* 2 cups water

* 3 cups caster sugar

Directions:

* Wash the lemons thoroughly – scrub them clean of all residue and dry.

* Using a peeler, take off the skins being careful not to get any of the white lemon “pith” onto your peelings or it will add bitterness to your limoncello.

* Put the peels into a large, open-mouth jar with 2 cups of vodka and seal the lid tightly.

* Put the jar in a cool, dry place for three days. You’ll notice the color of the liquid changing to yellow and the color of the lemon peels fading.

* Dissolve the sugar completely in water by heating it on the stove and cook into thick syrup. Then cool the sugar-water mixture to room temperature and add to the peel mixture.

* Leave for two days in a cool dark place, then add remaining cup of vodka and leave for additional two days. Strain the lemon peels out of the alcohol.

* Pour the mixture into bottles which can be sealed tightly and store them in the fridge. If the limoncello is kept “frozen” until serving it becomes thick and syrupy.

Tip:

This is a ‘fast’ version of traditional recipe that takes about two months to prepare, but the aroma and taste are rich and full.  I believe once when alcohol extracts all aroma out of peel, there is no need to keep it longer (it actually gets more bitter).

As I am lucky to have not only lemons, but also limes and clementines in my garden which are not sprayed I’ve trialed the same recipe on all of them and … IT WORKS! It is very nice to have all of them with their specific aromas and shades of yellow, green and orange.  Great range for cheering the guests!