Photo: Thomas J. Story; Styling: Dan Becker
Mulled wine is a classic holiday drink that brings together rich spice flavors, red wine and for this recipe, fresh oranges and orange liqueur.
Ingredients
1 large orange $
Seeds from 8 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
8 to 9 tbsp. sugar, divided $
2 bottles (750 ml. each) dry red wine $
1/4 cup orange-flavored liqueur (optional)
Thin orange slices (optional) $
Preparation
1. With a vegetable peeler, pare 8 thin strips zest (4 in. by 1/2 in.) from orange. Juice orange and reserve juice.
2. Wrap cardamom and coriander seeds and ginger in a piece of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine.
3. In a nonreactive saucepan, crush orange zest and 7 tbsp. sugar with a wooden spoon to release oils from zest. Add reserved orange juice, wine, and spice packet. Cover and bring to a simmer over high heat, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered, 30 minutes. Discard spice packet and orange zest.
4. To serve, heat wine, covered, over medium heat just until steaming. If you like, stir in liqueur and more sugar to taste. Ladle into heatproof glasses. Garnish with thin orange slices if you like.
