Charlotte Pike

Food & Drink Expert

Archives for December 2015

Mulled Wine

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Mulled wine is one of my favourite drinks at this time of the year. As always, homemade is infinitely superior to shop bought. This is my recipe for homemade mulled wine and it is sensational.

If you haven’t made your own before, then I urge you to. You’ll be amazed by how good it is. The flavours of the spices and fruit really sing, and it’s so much more interesting and complex in flavour than the sugary shop-bought stuff. Even the good quality brands.

Mulled wine is incredibly quick to make and doesn’t require a huge list of ingredients. I always keep the requisite ingredients in stock at home, so I can prepare a batch from cupboard to glass in under 15 minutes. I hope you enjoy it as much as my friends and family have this Christmas.

Mulled Wine

Charlotte Pike

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

750ml bottle quality red wine

Juice and zest of a large orange

Zest of an unwaxed lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g caster sugar

3 star anise

3 cloves

A good grating of fresh nutmeg (around a teaspoon)

1 cinnamon stick

Method

Place all the ingredients into a saucepan. Stir well and warm gently over a moderate heat. Do not allow to boil. Heat until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Strain through a sieve and serve hot.

Gingerbread biscuits

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Gingerbread biscuits are one of my favourite Christmas treats. They keep extremely well and are loved by friends and family of all ages. I’ve been tinkering with my gingerbread recipe this year, and this one is, I think, my best ever. My original recipe is still very popular, and requires fewer ingredients, but these are my all-time favourite now. I haven’t bothered with icing biscuits this year, as I just haven’t had the time, but I think these are rather charming cut into Christmas tree shapes and sprinkled with a little icing sugar.

Gingerbread biscuits

Makes 18 large biscuits

Ingredients

250g plain flour, plus a little extra for the work surface

85g light brown soft sugar

4 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch salt

75ml golden syrup

120g butter, softened

1 egg yolk

 

Method

Start by sifting the flour, sugar, ginger, nutmeg, bicarb. and salt into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.

Add the syrup, butter and egg yolk and mix well to combine. This is easiest done in a stand mixer. The mixture will form a fairly firm dough when it’s mixed together. Bring the dough into a ball and flatten to form a disc, around 3 cm thick. Cover in cling film and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C and line two large baking sheets with non-stick baking parchment.

Once the dough is chilled, remove from the fridge and unwrap. Sprinkle the work surface with extra flour and roll out the dough to around 7-9mm thick. Cut out shapes and lay them out on the baking sheet, remembering to leave at least 15mm between each biscuit, as they do expand in the oven.

Once all the shapes have been cut, bake for 7 or 8 minutes for a soft gingerbread texture and 8-10 for a crispier biscuit.

 

When the biscuits have been cooked, transfer the gingerbread to a wire rack to cool fully. They are rather nice enjoyed warm though. They keep for 7-10 days stored in an airtight container.

Kale, spinach, pomegranate and walnut salad

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Salads are not just for sunny days. In the depths of winter, a salad can be a wonderful thing; full of nourishing ingredients and vibrant flavours to ward off colds and cheer the spirits. In many ways, a good winter salad is more exciting than a summer salad. It’s an unexpected injection of flavour at this cold and dark time of year.

I love interesting salads, packed with interesting flavours and textures. A good salad is a deeply satisfying meal, and this is one of my very favourite winter salads. I adore kale and love it raw in salads. The key is carefully preparing the leaves, picking out any stalks or tough stems, and ensuring that the leaves are shredded into small pieces.

This salad is just wonderful enjoyed on its own, or with some lamb kofte or meatballs to turn it into a complete meal. It’s one I make time and time again at this time of year. I hope you love it too.

Kale, spinach, pomegranate and walnut salad

Charlotte Pike

Serves 4, generously

Ingredients

3 red onions, thinly sliced

25g butter

200g kale, stalks removed and sliced into thin strips

500g baby spinach

25g walnuts, chopped

Seeds from 1 pomegranate

1 bunch dill, chopped

¼ tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Juice from ½ lemon

Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

Pinch caster sugar

Sea salt

Olive oil

 

Method

Gently fry the onions in the butter for around 15 minutes until translucent. Set aside and leave to cool.

Once the onions have cooled, combine all the ingredients together, gently tossing to ensure the leaves are evenly dressed. Add enough olive oil to lightly dress the leaves. Season to taste. Serve immediately.