Sweet Spiced Red Wine Sauce
This sauce goes perfectly with peaches or pears, or to enhance the flavour of a moulded rice pudding. You can also churn the sauce to make an excellent sorbet, just stir in 75 ml water before churning.
Overview
This deep, aromatic red wine sauce is infused with warm spices, vanilla, and orange before being finished with fresh mint, giving it both richness and brightness. Reducing the wine by a third concentrates the flavour into an elegant, pourable consistency. It pairs beautifully with poached fruit and rice-based desserts, and can even be churned into a sorbet.
Ingredients
- 500 ml red wine (preferable Pinot Noir)
- 200 grams caster sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick (crushed)
- 1 clove
- 2 vanilla pods (split length-ways)
- finely pared zest and juice of 1 orange
- small pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon mint leaves
Method
- Pour the red wine into a saucepan and add the sugar, spices, vanilla, orange zest and juices.
- Slowly bring to the boil and let bubble gently until the liquid has reduced by one-third.
- Off the heat, add the nutmeg and mint and allow to infuse for a few minutes, then pass the sauce through a fine-meshed conical sieve into a bowl.
- Leave to cool completely, then refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
- Use a good-quality Pinot Noir if possible, its lighter body and fruit-forward character reduces into a more elegant sauce than heavier tannic reds.
- Watch the reduction carefully: one-third reduction is the target, but going too far will make the sauce overly sweet and syrupy.
- Add the nutmeg and mint off the heat only, as prolonged cooking will turn the mint bitter and dull the fragrance of the nutmeg.
- Pass the sauce through a fine-meshed sieve while it is still warm for the smoothest result; the liquid thickens as it cools and becomes harder to strain.
Serving
Serve with: poached peaches or pears, moulded rice pudding, or vanilla ice cream Temperature: cold or at room temperature Amount: approximately 3-4 tablespoons per person
Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- The sauce can be frozen for up to 1 month; defrost overnight in the refrigerator before using.
- Stir well before serving as the sauce may settle during storage.
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