In this month’s THE GLOSS & THE Mix (on newsstands now) Trish is cooking with all sorts of citrus fruit. Here are two more fun citrussy recipes you might like to try this weekend …

Homemade Limoncello

Probably the most simple, direct and delicious way of preserving sunshine! Just think, if you start now, when the liqueur is ready to drink, Spring will be just around the corner. Halve the quantities if you feel two large bottles might be too much.

For 2 litres liqueur
30 minutes preparation
1 ½ months of patience

1 litre Vodka
400g sugar
6 large untreated lemons
1.2 l still mineral water

Wash the lemons and remove the zest with a vegetable peeler, being careful to avoid the bitter pith underneath as much as possible.

Put the zest into a large screw-capped jar with the vodka, close and shake. Then leave the jar in a cool, dry, dark place for a month, shaking it regularly (every day if you can remember) to allow the flavour to develop.

After a month, filter the liquid and discard the spent zest. Make a syrup with the water and sugar by dissolving the sugar in the simmering water. Leave to cool completely before adding the syrup to the lemon liqueur base. Taste as you go to obtain the sweetness you like.

Pour into bottles, close and leave to rest for ten days or so before drinking your bottled sunshine.

Preserved limes

Omnipresent in Moroccan cooking, salted, preserved lemons are wonderful allies in your kitchen and team so beautifully with warm, exotic spices. The technique, from US food writer Claire Saffitz, works just as well with limes.

10 minutes preparation
A little attention for 2 – 3 days
1 month chilling before use

6 untreated limes, scrubbed
300 – 500g salt

Cut the ends off the limes and slit them by cutting an X in their base, sliding the knife down around ¾ of the side of the fruit. Pack salt into the open fruit, then push them into a tight fitting jar, pressing more salt around each fruit as you go, and allowing the juices to squeeze out.

Have the limes rest for a few hours before pushing more salt around them and letting the juice submerge the fruit. Do this a few times over the next two to three days before chilling the jar for a month. To use the preserved limes, remove from the brine and wipe or rinse and dry them before chopping into tajines or slow cooked dishes. They will keep for two to three months.