I just love this time of the year, with all the different foods and traditions. It’s a wonderful time for meeting friends and family and enjoying special festive treats and magical Christmas markets. Imagine late evenings in front of the fireplace with a cup of mulled wine and delicious homemade “Æbleskiver” apple pancake balls. Most countries have their own versions of mulled wine. For example, in Ger many and Austria it’s called glühwein, and is served with strong (80 per cent) Stroh rum. In the Scandinavian countries it’s called gløgg, and that will be my recipe today, served with Spanish almonds and raisins and filled with dark rum.
Mulled Wine – Gløgg (3½ litres) 3 litres red wine 15 green cardamoms 40 whole cloves 4 large cinnamon sticks 6 dry star anise 2 large fresh ginger roots 3 bay leaves 2 decilitres sugar (to taste) zest and juice of 1 lemon peel and juice of 1 orange 2 decilitres water ¼ litre dark rum 250 grams raisins 100 grams chopped almonds
CREATIVE CULINARY IDEAS FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON
BY CHILI GOURMET CATERING CHEF HELLE BARLEBO
Place the raisins into a bowl, pour over the dark rum and leave in the refrig erator overnight. Pour one litre of red wine into a pot. Cut the ginger root into slices, and make juice from the washed orange and lemon and zest from the skin. Place all the ingredients into the pot and add the spices, sugar and water. Place on high heat and let it boil for half an hour. Set the mixture aside and leave it to cool with the lid on until the next day. Strain the spice mixture into a larger pot, to remove all the spices. Pour the rest of the red wine into the pot and maintain the mulled wine at 80 degrees. You can add extra sugar according to taste. Some like it a little sweeter than the Vikings prefer! When serving, pour the warm mulled wine into a glass and add a large spoonful of raisins and chopped almonds. For decoration, you can also add a slice of orange and a stick of canella. I am aware that my recipe produces quite a few litres, but it smells and tastes so delicious it is worth keeping in the fridge in glass bottles for up to three weeks, although I’m sure it will be gone a lot sooner.
