Spiced Fruits Mulled Wine
Nothing beats a warm glass of mulled wine on a cold winter’s evening. To make it extra special, add a dash of sloe gin or one of your favourite spirits. For an alcohol-free twist replace the wine with cranberry juice.
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 750ml bottle red wine
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 whole star anise
- 6 whole cloves
- 4 tbsp caster sugar
- juice of 2 oranges
- 2 blood oranges, sliced
- 2 pears, sliced
- 2 pomegranates, prepared (skin and pith removed, seeds retained)
- 100ml sloe gin (optional)
Method
- Place the wine, spices, sugar and orange juice in a large saucepan and heat very gently until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the slices of oranges and pears and pomegranate seeds then gently simmer. Do not let the mixture boil.
- Stir in the sloe gin and serve in heatproof glasses.
Tips:
- Removing the pan from the heat after 1 minute ensures that the batons of rhubarb retain their shape. However, if they overcook and turn to pulp just swirl through cooled custard to make rhubarb fool and decorate with pistachios.
- Omit the grenadine and serve the poached batons with pan fried mackerel fillets for a savoury twist.
