Mulled Wine Dessert

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

For the syrup

• 1 orange, juice and zest only
• 2 cups red wine, (shiraz or merlot or a big red, pinot not ideal)
• 2 cups caster sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 cinnamon quills
• 1 pinch chilli flakes

Poached fruit

• 6 mandarins
• 3 tamarillos

Accompanniments

• ginger ice cream
• gingernut biscuits

Method

Combine the syrup ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes, remove from heat and allow to sit for a couple of hours, to let the flavours infuse.

Peel the mandarins and tamarillos, for the tamarillos: Bring a pot of water to the boil, make a cross in the end of the tamarillo, leave the stalk on the other end for presentation.

Plunge the tamarillos into the water for about 10 seconds, remove immediately and plunge into cold water, peel the skin off leaving the stalk on.

Place the peeled mandarins and tamarillos into the syrup and gently simmer for approximately 5 minutes.  Turn the heat off and allow the poached fruit to sit in the syrup until you are ready to serve.

To serve, cut the tamarillos in half, place half each in a wide rimmed bowl, place a mandarin in each bowl, cover with a ladle of the syrup.

Serve with a scoop of ginger ice cream, and crumble some gingernut biscuits over the top.

John Hawkesby’s wine recommendation

Heron's Flight Dolcetto 2008

Matawhero Merlot 2009