December 19, 2012

Spiced Pomegranate Mulled Wine

After a long day I walked through my front door yesterday evening to a welcoming and seasonal smell: the mulling of wine. We’re branching out. The new recipe made it’s intoxicating debut in our new little red 2 quart Crock Pot, rather than the 6 quart we’re so familiar with.

Keen to remain faithful to sourcing ingredients seasonally whenever possible, we chose Pomegranate to add a fruitiness. Pomegranates are a good choice because they thrive in drier climates and are ripe for harvesting from September onwards in the San Joaquin Valley in California. These Wonderful and Angel Red varieties are slightly more local than the ones historically imported from overseas.

Fruits with a history, Pomegranates pepper a variety of religions with sacred meaning. They are thought to be the original forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, and in Buddhism appear as one of the 3 blessed fruits.

We chose Pomegranate Juice from the same region as the whole fruit. The recipe for our Spiced Pomegranate Mulled Wine is below. Should you find yourself wondering what to do with a whole one, here are a couple of suggestions:

Deseed (or you can find seeds ready-to-go in grocery stores) and sprinkle the scarlet gems over green salads with toasted hazelnuts and crumbled blue cheese

If you have leftover roast turkey or chicken from the Holidays make a pilaf and scatter the pomegranate seeds over the finished dish with chopped parsley.

Prep Time 5 mins
Cooking Time 5 hrs or more on low
Servings 4 (for a 2 qt slow cooker, also fine in 3-6 qt models. For more servings multiply quantities accordingly)

Ingredients

1 orange
8 cloves
1 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks approx 3” in length
1 bottle red wine
1 bottle Pom Wonderful (240ml) or Pomegranate Juice equivalent
⅓ cup honey (or sugar)
1 tsp ground allspice

Cut the orange in half. Slice one of the halves into half moons. Stud the remaining half with the cloves, star anise and cinnamon before placing in your slow cooker insert.

Carefully pour the red wine, pomegranate juice and honey over the orange in your slow cooker ensuring that the spices are immersed in the liquid. Stir in the allspice.

Cook on low for 5 hours or more. Serve in warmed glassed or mugs

Looking Ahead

We’re adding to our classic recipes with a Beef Stroganoff, for one of those “other meals” that happen at this time of year: dinner with friends or a Sunday lunch with family, before we head our separate ways for the New Year.

Zen Toolkit

Whichever Holiday you may be celebrating, enjoying a glass of mulled wine by candelight is a simple way to find some peace.

Line up your spice jars and set out dry ingredients the night before or skip this step and purchase our Mulling Spices “Zen Blend” filled with organic herbs and spices – everything you need to simplify your slow cooking experience.