Divertimenti con noci

A walnut tree is not exactly a weed, but an abandoned tree laden with green nuts in the nearby allotment gardens had engendered an email exchange with my strange hermit brother, who had written: "Grab the green walnuts NOW and make nocino" and little else of use all year; and so a plastic carrier bag was filled with the little green things and two bottles of vodka, a substance not usually given space in our household, procured.

Nocino is a dark and rich liqueur made from steeping walnuts in alcohol with other aromatics.

Nearly all the recipes say to halve or quarter the nuts, or viciously to poke holes in them with needles, skewers or arrowheads. The juice of walnuts is supposed to stain you and your cat a dirty brown - and yes - you will be like that for ever, little kitty.

But using a heavy knife and rolling the cleaned and dried nuts around with it creates a neat incision in the skin which should be better than any skewering, and involves minimal contact with the juices, so that's what I did.

So they went in a large jar with some orange peel and a litre of vodka was just enough to cover. I will add other aromatics in the next two weeks and sugar after 30- 40 days. The stuff will turn dark brown, even darker than a walnut stained cat; and will need filtering and further maturing. Expect to have a final update in 2011.

In the meantime, a picture. Nocino Day 1...

Wild Garlic Time

This is Wild Garlic time, make no mistake about it. The little white flowers and assegai-end shaped leaves are waiting for attention. Pretty well the whole of the plant is edible, but don't uproot it. You want more next spring.

Wild Garlic Pesto
Use a food processor to chop a few handfuls of wild garlic, some grated parmesan, olive oil and pine nuts into a delightful garlicky spread for garlic bread, bruschette, and pasta sauces.

Scallops and Wild Garlic
Chop some wild garlic finely and saute gently in some butter in a frying pan until soft. Remove the wild garlic. Turn up the heat. When the butter is bubbling with joy, sear the scallops on both sides, add back the wild garlic, and toss them all together for a couple of minutes until the scallops are done. Sprinkle with a little lemon juice and enjoy with some bread to soak up the juices.

Wild Garlic and Bacon Omelette
Cut some good bacon into matchsticks, brown in a frying pan and add four or five leaves of wild garlic, shredded. Remove once the wild garlic is softened. Add butter to the pan and heat until ready to cook an omelette. Add the beaten egg and before folding add the bacon and wild garlic mixture. Eat as runny as you like.

Crayfish and Wild Garlic Cocktail
For 200g of crayfish tails (or prawns), well drained and dried with kitchen towel; make two eggs worth of mayonnaise, add some tomato purée and a dash of tabasco to make a Marie Rose sauce; and combine with the crayfish and three or four leaves of wild garlic, shredded. Serve in cups or ramekins, layered with fresh green salad leaves.

The flowers are delightful stir fried or just nibbled.