Dark winter days are usually brightened by delicious oranges and lemons from Sicily, but winter this year has so far been gorgeous with bright, sunny & frosty days. But that has not stopped us from making the most of the citrus fruits all the same – not least to help us get through a horrible cold we’ve all caught!
The main event of our citrus-fest is about 100kg of oranges that Gavin is squeezing for ‘spremuta’ – freshly squeezed juice – that we’ll freeze in order to be able to give our guests fresh juice throughout the season. We’ve also just bottled our first try at making limoncello – I always had a suspicion that there was some sort of hideous additive which turns the bought stuff neon yellow, but as you can see from the picture that’s what happens when you combine just water, alcohol, sugar and lemon peel.
First taste is great – fresh, strong and lemony, and we’re assured it’ll just get better and better. And with the juice from those lemons and our own eggs I’ve made a vat of lemon curd too – maybe some of that will go in a crisp pastry tart….mmmm….