Wonderful walnuts

IN the run-up to my birthday in mid-July, it is not unusual to see me with a knitting needle heading to the nearest walnut tree.

- Mark Diacono

I go not for a shady spot to finish a hat or a pair of gloves but in search of walnuts the size of golf balls, too early for the shell to have formed. If the knitting needle passes through the flesh and out the other side, I’m not too late.

I am following, two weeks later and with less elegance, in the footsteps of the ladies of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, where, in late June, these ‘green’ walnuts are infused in the local spirit alcohol to produce a wonderful aperitif known as Nocino. There are contests, usually for women only, to establish the finest, so seriously is this homemade beverage taken. One of the pleasures of growing your own walnuts is being part of this noble tradition. Green walnuts can be pickled— they are delicious in this way— but most of those I pick are infused in vodka in my take on the classic, known, of course, as DiacoNocino.

It is as simple as it is superb: quarter 29 or 31 green walnuts (an odd number is traditional), infuse in a liter of vodka into which 400g sugar has been stirred. Flavorings —such as vanilla pod, cloves, lemon zest, and a stick of cinnamon—are occasional options. I turn it daily (when I remember) for a couple of months, then strain it into a bottle. The dark, syrupy, bittersweet liqueur is superb stone-cold or drizzled over ice cream.