Autumnal Clementine Mulled Wine

I don't believe in waiting until December to start mulling things. If it is cold enough to dust off the winter coats then it's time to start mulling! I call this my Autumnal recipe because it is a fruity prelude to its fiery, festive counterpart that I will post about in the future. This is not a particularly sweet recipe and in fact I do not add sugar at all. The only sweetness will come from the roasted clementines and a healthy glug of cranberry juice. It is wonderfully citrussy and tart with a soft but warming edge of spices. A subtle nod to Christmas without stealing its thunder.

The clementines are definitely the star of the show here and really bring the wine to life. I have been restrained with the spices and gone against my natural instincts to throw everything in the pot to make sure that citrus is the dominant flavour with a delightful supporting act of aromatic spices.

Autumnal Clementine Mulled Wine

THINGS YOU WILL NEED

Roasting Dish

Large Saucepan

Rolling Pin (for bashing and squishing)

Ladle

INGREDIENTS

2 Massive Cinnamon Sticks

3 Clementines

20 Whole Cloves

1/2 a Whole Nutmeg

3 Star Anise

2 Large Bay Leaves

750ml Red Wine

500ml Cranberry Juice

1) Bash the nutmeg with a rolling pin to break it into rough crumbs. Half of the nutmeg should be enough. Stud the clementines with the whole cloves and arrange the spices together in a heavy roasting dish. Well-loved-but-impossible-to-get-sparkling-again dishes work perfectly! Pour over 300ml of cranberry juice. This ensures the dry spices will not burn and collects any tasty spice oils and clementine juices that come out during the roast.

2) Bake this in the oven on a medium heat for around half an hour until the tops of the clementines brown and the cinnamon sticks have uncurled slightly. The cranberry juice will have reduced by around half and the tops of the cloves will go white. The tops of the clementines will be crisp, but the fruit inside will be soft.

3) Transfer the roasted ingredients into a large saucepan and give the clementines a good squish with the end of the rolling pin. Pour over your bottle of wine and add the remaining 200ml of cranberry juice. Make sure the spices are well submerged and warm on a low heat for at least one hour.

4) Serve in a cosy mug and garnish with a fresh cinnamon stick and slice of clementine.