Limoncello

• By Frances Bissell

Keep this refrigerated as it is best served cold. This recipe is for around two litres.

You will need:

Six to eight Maltese lemons, a litre of vodka, a kilo of sugar.

Carefully peel off the lemon zest without removing any white pith, which would make the liqueur bitter. Put the zest in a glass jug or decanter, of at least a litre’s capacity, and fill it to the top with vodka. Cover the mouth of the jug with cling-film and leave it on a sunny window-sill for around four weeks. Halve and squeeze the lemons and top up the juice with water so that you have a litre. Put this in a non-reactive saucepan with the sugar, and simmer it until the sugar has dissolved. Bring it to the boil, remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then pour it into sterilised bottles. Store this syrup in a cool place until the four weeks are up. Then strain the syrup into a large jug, straining the flavoured vodka into it. Mix the liquid well and pour it through a funnel into sterilised bottles. Expect the liquid to be cloudy. Seal the bottles and label them. Don’t throw away the vodka-soaked lemon zest that has been strained out. Spread it on a plate to dry out completely, then grind it up with granulated sugar and use it in baking.