In the spirit of the festive season, a change from digital limericks to something slightly more tangible and tasty…
A tried and true recipe for “Glogg” courtesy of my good Norwegian friend Vikedal.
This Nordic “Glogg” has more alcohol and a less fruity taste than its German/Swiss cousin, the Gluhwein, but is still sweeter and more caramelized than zee French “vin chaud”.
Ideally to be enjoyed with interesting company and even more interesting cheeses…
Note: Of particular interest to pyromaniacs.
So here we go! What you’ll need:
2 bottles of dry red wine (get something nice – it’s christmas!)
1 bottle of aquavit (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian will all do…)
A small handful of cinnamon sticks
2 Tablespoons cardamom seeds
2 Tablespoons whole cloves
Peel of one orange
1 cup raisins or diced figs (go for the figs if you can!)
1 cup blanched almonds (if you can’t find “blanched” almonds, just boil almonds for 5-10 minutes and the peels come off very easily when cooled)
2 cups of sugar cubes
- Pour the wine and the aquavit into a deep saucepan.
- Add the figs and blanched almonds.
- Place the spices into a cheese cloth or a cloth bag (to contain them) and add the bag to the pan
- Simmer the whole mixture over low heat for about 10-15 minutes
- Meanwhile (come on you can multi-task!), separate the sugar cubes into 3 small bowls
- Take out the spice bag from the hot mixture and put aside.
- Remove the almonds and raisins/figs and put aside (for later).
And now, here comes my favourite part:
Burn the sugar into the mixture, like this:
- Have a wire mesh strainer and metal ladle on hand
- Move the saucepan to a safe and solid location. If it’s dark out and there’s not much wind, do this outside under the stars for maximum effect (I am a romantic…).
- Set the alcoholized mixture on fire (using a long match or lighter) in the saucepan.
- While the mixture is burning with its poetically blue flame, put 1/3rd of the sugar cubes in the strainer and hold the strainer over the burning liquid.
- Using the ladle, pour the mixture over the sugar. This will enable the caramelizing sugar to drip down into the magic mixture. Repeat with the rest of the sugar (the remaining 2/3rds).
So now, find your favourite Internet radio station, turn up the volume, have a snowball fight (if not feeling combative, snow angels are a good substitute), put a few soaked almonds/figs into little (demi-tasse) cups and pour the hot mixture over them…
Glad Jul! Glædelig jul!
And Skol!
