Home made Limoncello & a recipe using it: Marinated limoncello chicken with rice & limoncello courgettes

Recently, I made my first home made limoncello.

I love Limoncello. Limoncello is easy to make.

Recipe: For 1 vodka bottle & 1/2 pot of limoncello= 750 ml + 350ml= 1100 ml!!!

Ingredients:

5 organic lemons, skin not treated with chemicals. I buy mine in my Bio food health shop.

400 gr of fine white caster sugar

500 ml of water

500 ml of unflavoured alcohol. I chose Vodka von Smirnoff.

Method:

1. Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler. You only want the yellow skin, no pits & no white bits. Cut them into little bits & place them into a large & wide cleaned pot.

2. After all this is done, add the 500 ml of vodka to the pot. Seal the pot well with a fitting lid. Shake the pot up & down for a while so that everything is well combined.

3. Place the filled pot in a dark & cool place, not the fridge for about 1 week. Occasionally, shake the pot up & down so that everything will soak well.

4. After a week, you will see that the vodka will be flavoured with the lemon peels & will be yellow in colour.

5. Now, you take a large strainer & put a fitting bowl under it. You pour the liquid carefully trough the strainer & push the liquid out of the lemon peels, that stay behind. With the help of a spoon you push as many liquid out of the lemon peels as you can.

6. Now, you can make your syrop. Place the 400 gr of sugar in a cooking pot & add the 500 ml of water. Stir frequently. Bring to the boil. Let it boil for about 5 minutes until you ca n see trough your syrop. Take it off the stove & let it cool.

7. Now, add the cooled syrup to the vodka infused lemon peels & pour the limoncello in cleaned bottles or into clean pots. Place them into a dark place, hidden from direct sunlight for another 2 to 3 weeks. Shake the bottles from time to time up & down.

8. After 3 weeks, your limoncello will be ready!

Store : in the freezer or in the fridge. You have to drink it cold & then it is nice & lovely!

How to use?

It is lovely to drink after dinner,

to put into desserts & cakes

it is lovely in fruit salads, in cocktails, in ice creams, etc.

I also use it in my savoury dishes as you see right here:

Recipe: Marinated limoncello chicken with rice & limoncello courgettes

For 2 persons

Ingredients:

2 chicken fillets, no skin, cleaned, cut into chunks

** For the marinade:

3 fat cloves of garlic, peeled & finely cut up

zeste from 1 large lemon ( skin not treated with chemicals ) I buy mine in my foodhealth shop

juice of that same 1 lemon

6 sprigs of fresh tyme, just the leaves ( no stalks )

125 ml of home made limoncello

** for the rest:

baking margarine

EVOO ( Extra Virgin Olive Oil )

2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled & finely cut up

2 small yellow courgettes, washed & pad dry on kitchen paper, ends & pits removed, if they were any, cut into long strips or wedges

2 medium green courgettes, washed, pad dry on kitchen paper, ends removed, seeds cut out & cut into long strips or wedges

a few pinches of dried provencal herbs

15 to 20 ml of limoncello

white thai rice for 2 persons, cooked & drained ( keep warm )

2 preheated large plates

Method:

1. Take a large Ziplog bag & place all the ingredients for the marinade in it. Add the chicken pieces & seal the bag. Massage with your hands the outside of the bag carefully. Place into a fitting bowl in case of leakage. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour. I marinated it for 2 hours!

2. Meanwhile, you can rest.

3. When the marinating is over, take the bag out of the fridge. Take a large non stick pan & heat up on medium high. Pour 3 tablespoons of the EVOO in it & heat up. When hot, add the garlic pieces & the courgettes slices, maybe in 2 batches to the pan. Add a few pinches of dried Provencal herbs & stir from time to time. Fry until ready, but not too cooked trough. It still has to have a little bite! Place into a large serving dish with a fitting lid. Do the same with the rest of the courgettes, add a few pinches of dried Provencal herbs & a little splash of Limoncello.(15 to 20 ml ) when ready, add with the rest of the courgettes pieces. Keep warm.

4. Now, take the chicken pieces out of the marinade. Heat tha same large pan on high heat & put some baking margarine in it. When melted, add the chiciken pieces & fry until tender & cooked trough, for a few minutes. Because it has marinated, the chicken wil be moist on the inside & tastes absolutely lovely!

5. Meanwhile, pour the marinade into a little sauce pan & cook for 5 to 8 minutes until it has a bit cooked in. This will be your sauce. When everything is ready, plate up. The sauce still will be thin.

6. Take your preheated plates & place the rice in the middle of your plates. Spoon the courgettes mix on top & all around the rice. Lay your chicken pieces all around the rice mix & on top of the courgettes mix around the plate. Spoon the sauce over the top & enjoy!!!