The flavors of Christmas markets at home

The impact of the pandemic is felt more during the Christmas holidays than during the rest of the year. We can't be with our loved ones, enjoy the punch at the Christmas markets, or the great food that smelled all over the square. We believe that you miss those moments as much as we do, so we have prepared recipes for traditional dishes from Christmas markets for you. Enjoy moments with great food and your loved ones at home.

Trdelník is probably the most popular food of all markets throughout the year. You probably won't be able to bake the original baked on a grill over a fire at home. But if you follow our recipe, you will definitely prepare one that can trump even the most crowded markets. And what is its biggest advantage? You can wrap it in whatever you want, whether it's a traditional trdelík wrapped in sugar and nuts or you use cocoa, cinnamon or vanilla. You can find the recipe for classic trdelník here and its gluten-free version here .

Potato dumplings are mainly a specialty of western Slovakia at Christmas markets, plain, with poppy seeds, plum jam, chocolate spread or even cottage cheese. After all, those duck and goose feasts last too short for us to really enjoy such goodness. You can find the basic recipe for gluten-free potato lox here , if you fancy a stuffed version, click here .

We will continue to stay in the west of Slovakia, Zázvorníky are proud of the markets and Christmas tables. The crunchy, mildly spicy confection is more for adults, but if you leave out the ginger, a delicacy similar to the popular sponge cakes will be created for children. We only have a verified gluten-free ginger recipe and you can find it on our website here .

No matter which part of Slovakia you are in, surely the smell of gypsy roasts has always wafted through your town during the Christmas markets. Their basis is not only flawlessly prepared meat or fried onions. If we want to have a perfect experience, we also need a great bun. A gluten-free hamburger bun is the best for us, you can also fill gluten-free white rolls with gypsy roast.

As a BONUS, we offer you our recipe for a great Christmas punch , for which you will need:

• 4 apples
• grapefruit or orange
• 2 bags of black tea
• ½ l of rose wine
• 300 ml of orange juice
• spices for punch (cloves, cinnamon, star anise)
• rum and sugar to taste

Cut the apples into cubes and bring to a boil together with the grapefruit slices, remove from the heat and infuse black tea in this fruit mixture. Add wine, juice and, to taste, punch spices, rum and sugar. We do not cook the punch any further, we only heat it slightly, as it tastes best still warm.

All you have to do is add a few lights, turn on the Christmas carols and you can fully enjoy the atmosphere of the Christmas markets at home. After all, it's not about the place, the number of stalls or liters of mulled wine drunk, but about the people, and we believe that you have the best around you all year round.