Mulled cider At Christmas you could serve mulled wine, but I’m a proper West Country boy and mulled cider is more up my street. Get yourself a really good country cider – cloudy or clear; it doesn’t matter so long as it tastes great.
Makes 8 glasses 10 cardamom pods 4 star anise 3 fresh bay leaves 1 large cinnamon stick, broken in half 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 2 litres good cider 150g soft dark brown sugar 1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthways and the seeds scraped out 150ml dark rum thinly pared peel of 1 orange
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Proper Pub Food
Tie the cardamom pods, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and peppercorns together in a piece of muslin. Pour the cider into a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the brown sugar, vanilla seeds and pod and the muslin bag and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to low and leave the cider to simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir in the dark rum and orange peel. Remove the pan from the heat and serve.