Forever Nigella: Mulled Cranberry Sauce

There’s nothing like a bitterly cold day to make you glad that you are inside. And I do love being inside when it smells as fabulous as it does when I am making Cranberry Sauce. It’s very easy to do, even for a beginner, and you’ve still got a week to go, so why not give it a whirl. You won’t regret it, I promise!

I followed the recipe that Saint Nigella of Lawson has in her Christmas book last year,and was so pleased with the results that I was emboldened to tinker with the recipe this year. It wasn’t a hard leap to make, since I was brewing a batch of mulled wine at the same time.

Ingredients:

2 x 250g pack fresh cranberries
300g caster sugar
45ml cassis
75ml red wine
1 bay leaf
1 mulled wine sachet
zest of 1 large orange

Throw all the ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring when you remember. After about 5-10 minutes, the berries will start popping in the heat, so keep simmering until the popping slows, much like when you make popcorn. Give it all a thorough stir, then turn off the heat and leave to cool in the pan. This waiting period gives a change for the flavours from the mulling spices to really permeate the sauce. Have a quick taste to make sure it’s not too sweet. Frankly, I prefer mine a little sweet but you could always add some lemon juice if you think it might be too much.

Once cool, remove sachet and bayleaf and decant the sauce to sterilised jars (or indeed a large lidded plastic container) and store until the big day. I also plan on warming the sauce through before serving so that you get a waft of the divine mulled wine scent as you serve. I can almost taste it!