‘I like to stir a spoonful of imbuljuta, the chestnut and chocolate local Christmas hot drink into mulled wine – and the result  is delicious result’

 

Mulled Wine

2 oranges, juice and zest of 1 orange
grated zest of a lemon
100g sugar or equivalent stevia
6 cloves, plus extra for garnish
1 cinnamon stick
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
a pinch of cinnamon powder
seeds of half a vanilla pod
2 bottles of red wine, for non-alcoholic use red grape juice
4 star anise
a few red peppercorns for garnish

Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan with 300ml of the wine. Bring to a boil, simmer and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, stir and add a bit more wine if necessary. Do not let it dry out. The result should be a more syrupy version of the wine.

Add the rest of the wine and heat through.
Serve immediately

‘and if you are mixing with the chestnut and chocolate drink, simply put two spoonfuls of imbuljuta into each glass and top it up with mulled wine. (I pureed the imbuljuta for this but it is a matter of preference, you may prefer larger pieces of chestnuts in the drink).’

 

 

If you want to make Imbuljuta, you will need:

400g pre-packed chestnuts
The equivalent of 175g of sugar in stevia (check the labelling on your jar for conversions)
50g drinking chocolate
50g dark chocolate chopped in large pieces
Grated rind of 1 orange
Grated rind of 1 tangerine
1/4 tsp mixed spice
Pinch of ground cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Seeds from 1/4 vanilla pod
1 cinnamon stick

Place all the ingredients and half the chestnuts in a large pot. Add 1 litre of water and cook over moderate heat; stir until it starts to boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste and add more sweetener if desired. Add the remainder of the chestnuts and heat through. If necessary add more boiling water. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Reheat before serving.