On the Christmas menu

What better way to wake up than by the smell of delicious roast cooking away in the oven. But what's even better, is a glass of delicious mulled wine in this cold weather, brewed to perfection that keeps you cosy until its dinnertime. And there’s no recipe we dig as much as Audrey D’Souza’s – it’s equal parts yum and easy.

Ingredients:

• 2 bottles of wine
• 200gms castor sugar (it dissolves easily)
• 1 orange peel
• 1 lime peel

Pour the above in a decanter, and leave it overnight so that the oils from the peels are extracted by the sugar.

To this, add 1 cinnamon stick, 6 cloves, 3 bay leaves, some grated nutmeg, and a few dashes of vanilla nutmeg.

Add the wine to it (just enough to cover it) and simmer gently. Bring it to a boil till it reaches a thick syrupy consistency. Now, add the remaining wine, and stir some star anise into it. Simmer for five minutes, and leave to infuse. Garnish it with a slice of orange. Serve warm.

Not a wine person? Try this with 100 ml of rum. It’s just as good!