I wanted to do a series of posts for each main location in Spain where I partook in delightful Spanish food. But there is so much going on and I want to keep up. Besides this is an urban farm blog, not a travel blog (and I am supposed to be working on my thesis!). Perhaps as I try to recreate some of the lovely Spanish dishes I’ll post about the experience.

That said, my return from Spain was followed by a few days of continuous sleep which were then followed by the dawning awareness that two things are in season NOW. If I miss them this year, I’ll have to wait the whole year again. These are sour cherries and young green walnuts. I think I missed the cooking cherries while I was gone. I am still obsessively calling Berkeley Bowl until they tell me to stop. One false alarm had me zooming over there to discover they had sour grapes, not cherries. So sad.

However, a lovely friend successfully pointed me in the direction of a walnut tree laden with young fragrant walnuts. From this I concocted my first batch of nocino! An Italian walnut liquor.

Ingredients

• 30 green walnuts, early enough in the season so that they are easily cut with a knife
• 1.5 liters grain alcohol (80+ proof)
• 750 g sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 10 cloves
• 1/2 liter water
• The rind of an organically grown lemon, cut into strips

I rinsed and patted dry the walnuts. Then cut them into quarters with a sharp chef’s knife. I used plastic over my hands to protect them from the walnut juices which stains brown when it oxidizes.

I added the rest of the ingredients to the jar and gently moved it around to disintegrate the sugar.

Once done, I placed the jar in a dark area where it will remain for six weeks. I will gently shake it every up few days.

After those six weeks are up, I will remove the walnuts and solids with a slotted metal spoon. (Again be careful where you do this as the walnuts and the nocino will stain.) i will strain the liquid through several layers of cheesecloth into glass bottles and cork tightly. From the online recipes I read through, the liquor is best to ferment for another six months at this point and even best after a year. Younger varieties may still have a bitter flavor to them. Apparently, nocino will last for years if stored in a cool, dry place. I am very excited to have some nutty spicy nocino come January, our coldest month.

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