Glüwein (Mulled Wine)

(makes 8-12 glasses)

One of my favourite memories (and discoveries) from the cold European winter holidays...this warm, sweet, spiced red wine infused with cinnamon and star anise really is exactly what you need to warm you up and keep you going! It was served by the ladle from a gigantic keg/barrel, always a long line but definitely worth the wait. It's very addictive and you probably won't know when to stop drinking... your guests may never leave!

Prep time: 15 min
Cooking time: 10 min, or can leave on low heat for an hour or 2 before guests arrive...


Ingredients:
1/2 C Sugar
1 lemon
2 oranges
1-2 tsp ground nutmeg (or a whole one!)
3-4 cinnamon sticks
5 star anise
10-15 cloves
1-2 C water
2 bottles of red (i like to choose Italian reds, but that's just me!)


Method:
1. Peel large sections of peel from the lemon and 1 orange.
2. Juice the orange after it has been peeled.
3. Combine the juice, peels, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, sugar and 1 C red wine in a pot and bring to the boil. Keep it boiling for 4-5 minutes until it thickens slightly.
NB. It's important to make a syrup first and infuse the flavours before adding in the rest of the wine as you don't want to boil the wine and lose the alcohol!

4. Put the heat onto low-medium and pour in the rest of the wine and 1 C water gently heat it up without boiling! You may need to adjust the taste to your liking with more sugar or water (helps for smoother drinking so the alcohol hit isn't as strong)
NB. You can just have it sitting on low heat for an hour or so before guests arrive to really infuse the flavour and make the whole place smell like Xmas! 
5. Cut the remaining orange into thin slices and small wedges.
6. To serve, ladle into cups, mugs, glasses and top with a couple of wedges of fresh orange! Cheers!