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Glögg is a Scandinavian mulled wine.   The main ingredients are red wine, sugar, spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and bitter orange.  Some have  stronger spirits such as vodka, akvavit or brandy.  I used this ingredient list as a guide to making my glögg recipe.  Glögg is generally served with raisins, blanched almonds and ginger biscuits or snaps.   I got the idea to infuse the vodka with the spices from Leite’s Culinaria.  You could also combine all the ingredients (except the almonds) and let stand for at least 12 hours.  Reheat before serving.

You should use whole cloves, cardamom pods and ginger, but my sweet husband ran to the store for me and came back with everything ground.   Using the ground spices worked well in this recipe, but I will have to try the original recipe to do a taste comparison.

Inspired by The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Prep:  15 minutes      Sitting Time:  24 hours      Cook Time:  2 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup vodka
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 10 cardamom pods, slightly crushed (1 teaspoon ground)
• 10 whole cloves (1 teaspoon ground)
• 1 inch piece of ginger (1/2 teaspoon ground)
• Peel of 1 small orange
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 750 ml bottle of dry red wine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup raw almonds, blanched

Instructions

1. Place the vodka in a glass jar and add cinnamon sticks, cardamom, cloves, ginger, orange peel and raisins.  Let stand for 24 hours.
2. Blanch the almonds:  Bring water to boil and then remove from heat.  Add the almonds for 1 minute.  Drain in a colander rinse with cold water.  Pat dry to remove skins
3. Remove the cinnamon sticks and orange peel from the vodka.   Place the vodka in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the wine, sugar and almonds and heat just to boiling, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve in a mug with a few almonds and raisins.  Place a small spoon in each mug to scoop out the almonds and raisins.

Beverages  This post is filed under : alcoholic, scandinavian  

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