Last Friday, Bold Local Chrissy Loader invited a group of us into her home for a special dinner party. Mike Christie and Abby Ward of SF Delicious Catering , the winners of the recent Mac and Cheese SF Food Wars competition, were cooking and serving their prized recipe. It was delicious. But I’ll let Chrissy tell you more about that herself — stay tuned for her upcoming article on SF Food Wars. In the meantime, I wanted to share a different recipe that’s perfect while citrus is still in season: homemade limoncello.
Limoncello is a sweet lemon liqueur from Italy, where it’s traditionally served chilled as a post-meal digestiv. After we finished eating, Chrissy pulled out two pretty decanters from the freezer and poured us shots of the viscous liquid into tiny limoncello glasses (Yep, Chrissy’s the type of gal who owns glasses just for a particular drink).
In Italy, limoncello is tradtionally made with sorrento lemon peels, but really, any old lemon will do. What makes Chrissy’s limoncello extra special is that she uses Meyer lemons, which are sweeter and almost orangey tasting. But this great flavor comes at a cost: Meyer lemons have thinner peels than conventional ones, so you have to be really diligent about not including any of the pith (the white part of the rind), or else your limoncello with have an unpleasant bitterness.
For the base for the drink, Chrissy uses Everclear, a neutral grain alcohol, which insures you really taste the bright citrus. I was amazed by how much the Meyer flavor really came through. Here is Chrissy’s recipe:
Meyer Lemon Limoncello
Ingredients:
— 15 Meyer Lemons, peeled in thin slivers avoiding pith
— 1 liter bottle of Everclear (190-proof) alcohol
— 4 cups granulated sugar
— 5 cups water
- Wash the lemons with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any residue of pesticides or wax; pat the lemons dry.
— Carefully peel lemons in strips with vegetable peeler so there’s minimal white pith on the peel. Try to stick to the outer part of the rind as much as possible. If you’re using regular lemons, you might simply zest them to avoid the pith.
- Pour Everclear into a large glass jar.
- Add the lemon rind.
- Cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 days and up to 40 days in a cool dark place.
- Stir ingredients every few days, making sure to keep all rind moist and below the surface of the Everclear.
- In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and water; bring to a gentle boil for approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let the syrup cool.
- Add cooled sugar mixture to the jar with Everclear and lemon rinds.
— Cover jar and allow to rest for another 10 to 40 days.
- After the rest period, strain the limoncello, discarding the lemon peels/zest. Pour strained limoncello in bottle/bottles of your choice and seal tightly.
- Keep your bottle/bottles of limoncello in the freezer until ready to serve. Serve ice-cold in little shot glasses at the end of a meal.
