Today is the 24th of June, il giorno di San Giovanni (Saint John’s Day), the traditional day on which to begin making il Nocino, a liqueur concocted from noci col mallo (green walnuts) that has its origins in the Emilia-Romagna region. A small glass of Nocino is often drunk after meals as a digestivo (digestive).
Legend has it that in order to make a ‘divine’ Nocino the walnuts should be picked during the night of the 23rd and the 24th of June by a barefooted virgin who should wait beneath a walnut tree and gather any green walnuts that fall to the ground. If the walnuts remain untouched by anyone but the virgin the nocino will remain pure. If anyone else touches the walnuts however, it will be corrupted. For this reason the night of the 23rd and the 24th of June is known as la notte delle Vergini Scalze (the night of the barefooted Virgins).
Well, I’m hardly a barefooted virgin (I always wear shoes when I go outside!) and I don’t go out at night to pick my walnuts, but nevertheless the result is still excellent! I follow a recipe published in the mid 19th century by Pellegrino Artusi, who is perhaps the most famous Italian cookery book author.
| Ingredienti:
30 noci col mallo;
un litro e mezzo di alcool per liquori a 95 gradi;
750 gr. di zucchero fino;
2 gr. di cannella in polvere;
10 chiodi di garofano interi;
4 decilitri di acqua;
la scorza di un limone non trattato. |
Ingredients:
30 green walnuts;
One and a half liters of pure 95 degree alcohol (for liqueur);
750 grams of caster sugar;
2 grams of ground cinnamon;
10 cloves, whole;
400 ml of water;
rind of 1 lemon, not treated. |
| Preparazione:
Dopo aver pulito e tagliato in quattro spicchi le noci, mettere tutti gli ingredienti in un recipiente capiente di vetro.
Chiudere bene il recipiente e lasciarlo in un luogo caldo e assolato a macerare per 40 giorni, rimescolando di tanto in tanto.
Una volta trascorso il periodo, filtrare ed imbottigliare il liquore.
Se il Nocino fosse troppo alcolico, si può diluire con un po’ di acqua di sorgente.
Laciare a maturare fino all’autunno inoltrato. |
Preparation:
Having cleaned the walnuts and cut them into four segments, put all the ingredients in a large glass container.
Close the container well and leave it in a warm, sunny place to steep for 40 days, mixing it every now and then.
At the end of this period, filter and bottle the liqueur.
If the Nocino is too alcoholic, you can dilute it with a little spring water.
Leave it to mature until late autumn. |
Comments:
Bodach:
I first tasted Nocino in August 2007. We were in Italy for a little over two weeks staying in Abruzzo (near Pescara) and Emilia-Romagna (Bologna).
Although Nocino is traditionally from Emilia-Romagna we didn’t have it in Bologna.
Out in the Abruzzo countryside one day we saw a family and their making passata. We got talking and before we carried on they insisted we all have a glass of Nocino. We loved it.
I’m pretty sure they were very proud of their Nocino as their faces beamed as we enjoyed the liquer that they’d made themselves.
As we left they gave us a bottle to take with us. Their hospitality was wonderful, completely unexpected. One of the many reasons I fell in love with Abruzzo.
I’ve since tasted Nocino and Limoncello that were homemade and factory made and homemade always wins.
Thanks for the recipe.