makes
2
prep
15 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
2
serves
preparation
15
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Nocino definitely tastes like a winter drink. It gets better with age and really comes into its own after one year.
This drink is also steeped in a bit of folklore, both pagan and Christian, which tells us the walnuts need to be picked by a barefoot expert woman and left on the ground to catch the dew when the dark changes to light. I just got mine from the grower in a bag, but it is a goal of mine to be an expert woman.
My friend in nocino (and creative genius), Anthony Nelson, made a nocino that we loved – out of honey, vodka and just-green walnuts. He also did a late season batch with barely-green walnuts – almost too late but that was delicious, too.
Ingredients
- 20–25 green walnuts, quartered
- zest of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 orange
- 3 lemon leaves, crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 clove
- 2 allspice berries
- 5–10 coffee beans
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 vanilla pods
- 2 litres vodka or 95% proof alcohol (see Notes)
For the syrup
- 500 g light brown sugar
- 500 ml (2 cups) water
You will need a 2-litre widemouthed jar.
Infusion time: 4 months, plus 1 month
Instructions
- Combine the walnuts, zest, lemon leaves, bay leaf, clove, allspice, coffee beans and cinnamon sticks in the jar. Split the vanilla beans and scrape the seeds into the jar, then add the pods. Add the vodka. Stir, close the lid and set aside for about 4 months.
- After 4 months, make a syrup. Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved, then cool. While it’s cooling, strain the walnut liqueur, transferring the liquid to your clean bottle or bottles, adding some syrup to each. Lid, then gently swirl to combine. You should let it sit for at least another month.
Notes
• You might wonder where you can get green walnuts – you have a couple of months leeway in early spring to look. The first time I got hold of them was through friends who had a walnut tree in their backyard; the year after, I contacted a walnut farm and ordered some. Easy.
• The walnuts stain your skin for a while when you chop them, so you may want to wear gloves. No heat needed for this recipe either, so it’s a lovely thing to do outside.
• You’ll love watching the colour as it changes from dark brown to deep bright green over the first week, then slowly changes back from deep bright green to dark brown.
• If you’re using stronger alcohol, double the water in the syrup.
Recipe from (Hardie Grant Books, $39.99), available in-stores nationally.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Nocino definitely tastes like a winter drink. It gets better with age and really comes into its own after one year.
This drink is also steeped in a bit of folklore, both pagan and Christian, which tells us the walnuts need to be picked by a barefoot expert woman and left on the ground to catch the dew when the dark changes to light. I just got mine from the grower in a bag, but it is a goal of mine to be an expert woman.
My friend in nocino (and creative genius), Anthony Nelson, made a nocino that we loved – out of honey, vodka and just-green walnuts. He also did a late season batch with barely-green walnuts – almost too late but that was delicious, too.
