Brian’s Grandpa Pecky always used to complain about lemons. He said that the lemons in American stores were puny and not flavorful; that the lemons where he came from (Bagnoli Irpino, near Naples) were so much better. My husband would roll his eyes and say, “Yes Grandpa, we know. The lemons in Italy were the best in the world.”
Then we went to Naples and found out that it was true. The lemons there are as big as my head.
One of the jokes in the movie “Benvenuti al Sud” is about those lemons, well, all of the fruit in the region, and what they do with them there. When postal employee Mattia complains that he’s all hopped up on caffeine because he’s offered so much coffee on his delivery route, his boss, Alberto, suggests he take only the “fruit juice”. The stuff southern Italians do with lemons and other fruits is good but it isn’t always juice. Ever heard of Limoncello? Mattia and Alberto passed on the coffee and got wasted on the “fruit juices”.
All over Italy Italians are making homemade liqueurs from lemons and all kinds of other strange things. At the Hotel Parker in Naples the bartender gave us his made from arugula. That’s right, arugula – and it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. I’ve been given countless recipes for Limocello but it’s the recipe for Lemon risotto that the waiter in Naples gave me that I’ve kept (in my head – I’ve never written it down.)
I used to make risotto by gradually adding the liquids, but he said that that’s impractical. He said to make the sauce first, with butter, olive oil, white wine, a tiny bit of cream and more lemons than seem right (can’t give you numbers here – I just wing it.) Keep the sauce warm and then make the risotto – plain. When it’s done, add it to the sauce. Use a boat load of lemon juice (add some zest and peel if you like) and you will be amazed how good this is.
I Love Italian Everything 