For centuries, green walnuts were collected around the Summer Solstice, and on June 24, for the feast of Saint John the Baptist, in preparation for an autumnal batch of the walnut liqueur. In the Middle Ages, the storied liqueur, known as “Nocino” in Italy, was often associated with women sorceresses who gathered the fruit by night and brewed the fruit into a healing liquid.
These days, the bright green nuts are quartered, then steeped in alcohol with spices. Recipes for home brews and restaurant batches abound. Last week, two West Coast restaurants tackled their own, just in time for the season.
Chef-owner Edouardo Jordan, a two-time James Beard award winner, of Salare, a farm-to-table restaurant in Seattle, dusted off a favorite recipe he learned while studying in Parma with Chef Enrico Bergonzi.
"Ever since that experience of sharing, learning and breaking bread with each other I knew I had to share this beautiful beverage when I returned," he wrote, warning customers about a "hell of a Nocino flight coming up soon."
Preparing Nocino at Dispensa - via Instagram
The chefs at Dispensa, a rustic Italian restaurant in San Francisco, could not resist green walnuts and chopped them outside in the sunshine. They revealed the spices of their batch: cedro, anise and cinnamon.