Christmas is a festival that I associate with loads of food, especially sweets. Although I am a big fan of all the cakes and pastries prepared around this period, there are certain dishes that have a strong historical connect. To be celebrating Christmas in it’s truest form, me and Snigdha decided to head to Europe to discover the Christmas markets and the best delicacies. But before we traveled to Europe, purchasing a family travel insurance policy was one of the most important things we had to do.

The Schengen Visa process was completed with surprising ease and the tickets and hotels bookings arrived soon after. The Schengen Travel Insurance is something that is essential for applying for the visa. Our plan was to visit the Christmas markets of Bavaria in Germany, the Basque region in Spain before heading North to Scotland and the Scandinavian country of Norway. Check out what all dishes we tried there.

Celebrating Christmas in Norway with Lutkefish

People in Norway predominantly eat fish, specially Lutkefish. Lutkefish consists of treating white fish usually cod in lye till the proteins are denatured and a gelatinous consistency is achieved. It is served with boiled potatoes, mashed green peas, pieces of bacon and brown goat cheese. The history of this dish goes back to a Viking legend where a village had been sacked and the fish which was left to dry was thrown into the ash-filled water. The survivors later feasted upon this to their heart’s content. The process of making Lutkefish is quite complex with multiple dips in cold water followed by a soak in lye and water. The fish is then washed in cold water for multiple days as it is very alkaline and then cooked inside a cover.

Stollen, Germany

During the mid 15th century, the use of butter was banned in Saxony. The bakers could only use oil. But the bread that was created was hard and lumpy. There were many petitions sent to the Pope by Prince Elector Ernst which were subsequently rejected. Finally, in 1490, Pope Innocent VII allowed the use of butter for the making of the cakes in the famous “Butter Letter” for the royal family. There were many additions to the Stollen over the years like marzipan and dry fruits. One of the most important festivals in Germany is the Dresden Stollen festival. In 1730, King Augustus II the Strong ordered the baker’s guild of Dresden to make a 1.3-tonne Stollen Cake to impress his subjects. The tradition still continues today as a gigantic Stollen Cake is driven to the Christmas market in Dresden and cut up with a special long Stollen knife and distributed around while celebrating Christmas.

Black Bun, Scotland

Celebrating Christmas is a time for consuming cakes and one of them that has stuck with me is the Black Bun from Scotland. The Black Bun is a fruitcake wrapped in pastry and is filled with black currants, raisins along with spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, and allspice. The cake traces its history as a royal cake that was presented when Mary, Queen of Scots returned from France in the mid- 16th century. Legend states that the cake had been inserted into it which would entail the person finding it to be a king for the day. Following the Scottish Reformation in 1560, Christmas and the cake was banned but it has been making its way back to the dinner table during the New Year period.

Last destination for celebrating Christmas: Spain

Walk through any Catalan street during the festive season and you will find them littered with snail-shaped pasta. It is a part of Spain’s iconic dishes, escudella i carn d’olla also known as escudella de Nadal or sopa de galets. The dish appears to be pretty simple at first glance, just a bowl of soup with a side of meatballs and pasta. But instead, it is the result of a quite a complex process consisting of making the Escudella: meatballs made out of vegetables and at least four different types of meat including chicken, beef, and botiforra (sausage). It is a wholesome rich soup which is flavored quite distinctly with garlic and its heartwarming flavor is perfect to beat the nip in the air. It is considered to be one of the earliest recorded soups in history.> Ever since the 14th century, the people of Spain have been consuming it pretty regularly. The broth is usually served with the Galets; the snail-shaped pasta along with the vegetable, meats and meatballs on a separate platter.

Tell us what do you think about this list and what’s been your experience of Christmas in Europe.