Friday, January 23, 2009

Lemon Delicious

Pockets of earth housed in the ancient walls of forgotten villas, bed lemon groves, abandoned to themselves in the heart of Positano.

Smells are so evocative. Oregano reminds me of my grand-mother. Herbal shampoo takes me back to our beach house in Australia. But basil and lemons are the smell of Positano.

The Amalfi Coast is Lemons.

One is inextricably linked to the other.

They do so well in the climate, that often there is a surplus notwithstanding the numerous creative uses that the locals have invented.

Granita (lemon ice) spikes iced teas on the beach, homemade (or not) volatile Limoncello is offered gratuitously at restaurants as a digestive after the meals, and rice, fish, pasta and desserts al limone abound.

Delizia al Limone is a typical dessert on the Coast of a sponge cake soaked in the liqueur then covered in a lemon cream.
Their images decorate plates, ceramics and house numbers; they share their names with hotels and houses in the area.
They are sold to tourists as an over sized novelty on road side stands and are recently even made into natural soaps by Saponissimo.


In our gardens, the lemon trees are trimmed and tied pergola style.

This way, the roots are shaded by the foliage, the lemons are within arms reach and they can be covered in winter by a strong net which protects them against the fierce Tramontana wind which can strip their leaves in a matter of hours.
The icy wind coming down the mountain, swirls along the walls and tunnels in stair wells creating havoc in our gardens which are particularly exposed to the elements but strangely enough, sparing those alongside the house or below us.

We planted a tree of a different variety for each of our children when they were born, and when they were young they delighted in picking the lemons off their tree and showing me proudly.

'Make Lemon Delicious Mum' would soon follow, if they didn't eat the lemon there and then !

Lemon Delicious is an old fashioned light self-saucing dessert pudding which I often make, but use untreated lemons if you don't have them in your garden.

Lemon Delicious

grated rind of 1 lemon
60g softened butter
3/4 cups of Castor sugar
3 eggs separated
3 tablespoons of sifted flour
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1/4 cup of orange juice
1/2 cup of milk
icing sugar for dusting

Cream butter sugar and lemon rind. Add egg yolks one at a time. Mix well. Add flour and mix in. Mix liquids together then stir in . Beat egg whites till stiff then fold into mixture.
Put into a shallow 4 cup oven dish. Set dish in a pan of boiling water (to come up halfway up the dish). Bake for 45minutes in a slow oven (170. F) or until the top is firm.
Dust with icing sugar then serve hot.

Serves 4 -6.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great photos and the recipe looks delish :)

Anonymous said...

uhmmm deliziosi questio bignè al limone di Amalfi, io invece sto cercando una ricetta di dolce con il limoncello (oltre alla caprese già fatta), sapresti darmi qualche spunto della tua zona? Se vuoi mi puoi scrivere per email, che trovi sul blog. Grazie :-)

Ciao Chow Linda said...

mmm, i want this now... for breakfast.

Lucia said...

Hmmm...I can just smell the fresh scent of lemon. It's so dreamy, reminds me of when I was 5 and played in the lemon groves in Sicily.

Anait said...

mmmmmmm i'm drooling over my keyboard. What I wouldn't give to be sipping some limoncello by the beach!

'A Tuscan view.....from Umbria' said...

I so love your new banner. Those apricots are so gorgeous and rosy they make me long for the sunshine. As for the lemons, they look beautiful and bountiful growing over that pergola.

I am going to copy your lemon pudding recipe, it reminds me of one my grandma used to make when I was small. I asked her to make it for my birthday once, I loved it that much. She called it Lemon Surprise. Ciao amanda

Anonymous said...

Your lemon pergola is stunning! Lovely post.

Chef Chuck said...

Lemon, Lemon, Can't have enough!!
Thanks for sharing this bright post of lemons!! Lemons, Basil, Positano, O.K.

Rosa said...

My Melange - thank you!

Francesca- Ci pensero` un po` e poi ti contattero`.

Linda- Believe it or not, I had it for breakfast too.

Lucia- What a beautiful memory!

Anait- Wouldn't we all love it.

Amanda- Thank you for the compliments. It's my children's favourite too. They bicker over who cleans out the dish afterwards!

Rosa said...

Sally -Thanks - they were ready for the picking!

Chuck- you've got it!

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Such a lovely way to celebrate the birth of your children..

Those lemons look amazing!

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Sorry..forgot to say LOVE your new header!!

Anonymous said...

Love the story and the lemon pergola - just beautiful!

Anonymous said...

yummy, yummy;))
Greetings from Poland.

Anonymous said...

I love your lemon pergola! They're 2 for $3 here... and probably half as good.

Dewi said...

Wow, I love that idea of tying the brances onto pergola. I will do this when my lemon tree are big enough. Such a good idea.
Your lemon delicious is certainly sound delicious.
Cheers,
Elra

Anonymous said...

Thanks for visiting my site...Your blog is great. I loved the Amalfi Coast, wish I could have spent more time in Positano. It was just beautiful. I think the best limencello we had on that trip was at La Tonnarella in Sorrento.

Proud Italian Cook said...

Oooh, that looks like a lemony souffle, I must try that! I also adore Limoncello, do you make that too??

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

oh I so wish I had a lemon tree.

I guess it would be hard to have on in an apartment without a terrace. ha

natalia said...

Che belli i tuoi limoni !!

LaDue & Crew said...

Oh this looks so refreshing and comforting at the same time! Your pictures are so wonderful too... they make me wish I were there!

Rowena said...

I have a teeny little lemon plant that arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to Casalba and thanks to your Lemon Delicious idea, I hope that I'll be able to make my very own sun-colored citrus memories one day!

Suzie said...

Yum it looks so good

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

The lemon tree pergola is beautiful and very useful. Yes, I think if I could plant one tree only it would be a lemon tree. The Lemon pudding looks delicious and I shall make it. My lemons are starting to ripen.

The Food Hunter said...

This is perfect. Now I know what to do with all my lemons. Thanks.
I'm hoping to make it out to your area this fall. Heading to Praiano.

Susan said...

Mmmmm...this looks magnificent. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog- Im so happy to know you and Im so glad you are now a follower. I am now your s too!
Abbracci!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful lemony dessert! How I wish I could go outside my door and pick fresh lemons like that. You are very lucky. Nice post.

Leanne was in Italy now in Australia said...

Your photos are beautiful. I can just smell the lemons!

qualcosa di bello said...

i am obsessing about lemons & blood oranges lately...i am drooling!

Anonymous said...

This post makes me think about the homemade limoncello and granita I was so blessed to have in abundance in Italy this past summer. Love the photos! What a beautiful idea to plant a tree for each child! :)