My friends who live in the countryside were surprised one morning to wake up and see me climbing their walnut tree in my pajamas, swiping the rock-hard, unripe green orbs off the branches. Once I’d picked enough, I climbed down and confessed that I could barely sleep the night before in anticipation of collecting enough of them to make a batch of nocino, an Italian liqueur made from unripe walnuts. It took a while for them to figure out what I was talking about. When I returned a few months later with a tub of Vanilla Ice Cream (page 143) and drizzled inky-brown nocino over each scoop, no one questioned my early-morning motives. If you know someone with a walnut tree, give this liqueur a try. And be sure to give them a bottle as a thank you, so you’ll get invited back to gather more green walnuts the following year.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 cups (1 liter)
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Using a chef’s knife or cleaver, quarter each walnut. (Use caution, as the husks are tough to cut through. I press a cleaver gently into the skin, then, holding my hands far away from the blade, crack the nut in half on a cutting board.)
Step 2
Put the quartered walnuts in a large glass container along with the cinnamon, cloves, lemon zest, and sugar. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the container, then drop in the pod. Add the vodka. Cover and let stand 6 to 8 weeks at room temperature, agitating the container daily.
Step 3
When ready to bottle, using a slotted spoon, remove and discard the walnuts and remove the vanilla pod (it can be rinsed, dried, and used for another purpose; see page 14). Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a coffee filter, then funnel the nocino into clean bottles and cork tightly.
Storage
Step 4
Nocino will keep for several years stored in a cool, dry place or in the refrigerator.
Variation
Step 5
To make NOCINO CUSTARDS , in a medium saucepan, warm 2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream, 1 cup (250 ml) half-and-half, and 9 tablespoons (135 g) sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar; remove from the heat. In a medium bowl, whisk 6 large egg yolks, then gradually whisk in the warmed cream mixture along with 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract. Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into a large measuring cup, then stir in 1/2 cup (125 ml) nocino. Divide the mixture among eight 4- to 6-ounce (125- to 180-ml) ramekins or custard cups set in a roasting pan. Add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until the custards are just barely set, about 30 minutes.
