Vanilla Mulled Wine
Nothing puts me in a Christmas spirit like mulled wine does. This simple recipe requires preparing a quick syrup before mixing all the ingredients together – it really makes a difference to create a great mulled wine full of flavours and aromas.
I love the elegant flavour of the vanilla in my mulled wine mixture and I usually use maple syrup to avoid processed sugars and to add a bit of extra flavour.
(serves 3)
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 orange
• 30 ml maple syrup
• 1 vanilla pod
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 star anise
• 500ml red wine, I use Shiraz
METHOD:
• Wash and peel the orange.
• Put the maple syrup in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add pieces of the peel and squeeze in the orange juice.
• Halve the vanilla pod lengthwise and add to the pan.
• Add the nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, star anise and a little bit of wine to cover the ingredients and simmer the for 10 minutes to create a delicious flavour base.
• Turn the heat down, add the rest of the wine and heat gently without boiling.
• Ladle it into heatproof glasses and serve.
