Il Canarino
(eel kah-nah-REE-no)
La Cura: The Healing Bowl and Sick Day Comforts
After the sprawling Christmas Eve seafood feasts or a Sunday dinner where the pasta portions got entirely out of hand, an Italian home doesn't reach for an antacid—they reach for a lemon. Named for the vivid canary-yellow hue the water takes on, Il Canarino is the gold standard of domestic remedies. It is a dead-simple, zero-alcohol infusion that settles the stomach and forces you to sit still for ten minutes. The secret here is surgical precision with your vegetable peeler: you want only the bright yellow skin and absolutely none of the bitter white pith.
Ingredients
- filtered water2 cup
- organic lemon1 med
- fresh bay leaves2 large
- honey1 tsp
Method
- 01
Shave the lemon peel.
Using a sharp vegetable peeler, carefully shave off long strips of the yellow peel. Check the back of your peels—if there is a thick layer of white pith, carefully scrape it off with a paring knife, or your drink will turn terribly bitter.
- 02
Boil the water.
Pour the water into a small saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.
- 03
Steep the aromatics.
Once boiling, immediately turn off the heat and drop the yellow lemon peels and fresh bay leaves directly into the water.
- 04
Cover and wait.
Cover the saucepan with a tight-fitting lid to trap the volatile essential oils that actually settle your stomach, and let it steep undisturbed for exactly 10 minutes.
- 05
Strain and serve.
Remove the lid to reveal the vivid canary-yellow water, then strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into two mugs. Stir in a tiny spoonful of honey or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if desired, but never boil the juice itself. Drink it hot.
Notes
Sourcing the lemon.
You must use an organic lemon for this. Because you are extracting oils directly from the rind, any pesticides or waxes on conventional lemons will end up right in your mug.
Fresh bay leaves only.
Grab the small plastic clamshell of fresh bay leaves from the produce section of your grocery store. The dusty, brittle dried ones sitting in your spice rack won't release the right oils.
From Cook Italian in America.