5 recipes starring red wine

Red wine and pomegranate poached pears
Peel 4 pears but keep their stalks and cores intact. Place in a saucepan and cover in 1 cup pomegranate juice and 1 cup red wine. Add 1 cinnamon stick, the rind of ½ an orange, 2 star anise and 2 T brown sugar. Simmer gently for 30 minutes until tender but still firm. Serve the poached pears halved with Greek yoghurt folded into whipped cream. Garnish with crushed pistachios.

Red wine and mushroom chicken
Melt butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add 6 chicken portions and 6 rashers roughly chopped bacon. Fry until the bacon is cooked and the chicken brown on both sides. Remove and set aside. Now soften two sliced onions, 2 sliced carrots, 10 g thyme and a punnet of sliced mushrooms in the saucepan. Return the chicken and bacon to the saucepan and add half a bottle of red wine and 1 cup chicken stock. Simmer for 30–40 minutes. Season to taste and eat with soft, creamy Parmesan polenta.

Red wine hot chocolate
Heat 1½ cups milk in a saucepan with 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips and a vanilla pod. Once the chocolate has melted, add 1 cup red wine to warm through. Pour into small mugs and enjoy topped with marshmallows.

Red wine and anchovy chargrilled red peppers
Red peppers chargrilled on the braai are sublime marinated in loads of good olive oil with 3 anchovies, 3 cloves thinly sliced garlic, 3 T red wine and a handful of chopped flatleaf parsley. Finish off with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Eat tossed in fresh hot pasta with torn mozzarella with crusty bread on the side.

Quick red-wine tomato sauce for pizza bases
Whisk together ½ cup tomato paste, 6 T olive oil, 2 cloves chopped garlic and 1 t dried oregano with a crack of black pepper. Add ¼ cup red wine to taste  and simmer for 15 minutes. Spread the tomato sauce thinly and evenly over home-made pizza bases. Top with smoked mozzarella, grilled brinjals and cherry tomatoes and bake. Serve topped with fresh basil.

Discover more recipes featuring red wine here.