A Christmas Market Evening at Home

Potato pancakes with fresh apple sauce are my number one. Of all the things to eat at a Christmas market, those are the ones I would be most disappointed to miss.

Currywurst and a roll with raclette belong on our list too. And if I can find a crêpe, preferably with Nutella or powdered sugar, I know what I am having for something sweet.

Those are the things I would bring home for this evening: a small collection of the food we enjoy eating at the markets, served warm in a few rounds.

You can leave the coats by the door, put on some Christmas music and make room on the table for the first plate.

This is a tasting-style supper for two, with a little of several things. The quantities are a starting point to adjust after trying the recipes, rather than a promise that every appetite is identical.

If you want a simpler evening, choose the potato pancakes and crêpes. You can give the raclette or currywurst its own night another time.

These get the first round to themselves. They are my favourite part of the market menu, and they deserve to arrive at the table while their edges are still crisp.

Make the apple sauce first, so it is ready when you begin frying. The potato pancakes need your attention at the hob: squeezing the grated potato, shaping small pancakes and letting each side turn golden.

Grate the potatoes and onion, then wrap in a clean tea towel and squeeze firmly to remove as much liquid as possible. Mix in the egg, flour, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large frying pan and fry small pancakes, about 8-10 cm across, for an estimated 4-5 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through. Drain briefly on kitchen paper and serve promptly with apple sauce.

Choose a pan that comfortably fits three without crowding, and allow time for two batches. Estimated yield: 6 small pancakes for two, serving alongside apple sauce.

Cut peeled, cored apples into small pieces. Put into a small saucepan with a little water and lemon juice, cover and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft.

Mash to your preferred texture. Taste before adding any sugar. Deliberately no cinnamon in this base formula - fresh apple sauce, not cinnamon apple sauce. Estimated yield: approximately 200-250 g, enough to accompany the pancake batch.

The second round brings together two more favourites. Slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces and spoon over a warm curry sauce. Cut one raclette roll in half, so each person gets some bread and melted cheese.

For the home version, an oven grill can melt the cheese directly onto the bread. You do not need a raclette machine for this menu.

Have the sauce prepared before you sit down for the first round. After the pancakes, cook or heat the sausage according to the instructions for the product you bought, and finish the raclette roll close to serving. Fresh sausage and fully cooked sausage need different handling; follow the label for yours.

Mix ketchup, tomato purée, water, curry powder, paprika and vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer gently for 5-8 minutes, stirring, until spoonable. Taste before adding sugar - ketchup already contributes sweetness.

Cook the sausage fully according to its package instructions. Slice into bite-sized pieces and spoon the sauce over to taste, finishing with a light dusting of curry powder. Yield: two small tasting portions - a simple home sauce, not a claimed traditional or proprietary recipe.

Heat your oven grill/broiler. Split a bread roll horizontally, put the bottom half on a grill-safe tray and arrange sliced raclette cheese on it.

Grill until the cheese is melted and beginning to bubble, keeping it under observation - an estimated 3-6 minutes is only a starting point. Add the top half cut-side up briefly if you want it warm or toasted, then put the roll together and cut it in two. Serve immediately. Yield: one filled roll, cut into two tasting portions.

At a market, finding a crêpe is always a good result. At home, you can decide in advance that there will be one.

Nutella or powdered sugar would be my choice. A simple topping is all I need.

Mix the batter before the savoury cooking starts and keep it covered in the fridge until you need it. Then, when you are ready for something sweet, heat the pan and make the crêpes. The first can go straight to the table while the second cooks.

Whisk flour, salt, egg and milk into a smooth batter with a little neutral oil. Cover and rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Heat a 20 cm non-stick frying pan, add roughly a quarter of the batter and tilt to cover the base thinly. Cook for an estimated 1-2 minutes until the underside colours, then turn and cook the second side briefly. Spread with Nutella or dust with icing sugar, fold and serve warm. Estimated yield: 4 thin crêpes - start with one each, then decide whether you want another.

White mulled wine is fine, but I am not a huge mulled-wine person. It would not be the centre of my evening.

Put out something you actually enjoy drinking, along with water. White mulled wine can be an option for someone who wants it, without becoming a requirement for everyone.

I do love hot chocolate at a Christmas market, especially in the morning. That could be a lovely way to turn this idea into a different occasion: a daytime visit to your own little kitchen market, with a warm crêpe and a mug of chocolate.

Some tree lights, a candle safely away from napkins, and Christmas music are a good beginning. Use small plates so each round feels comfortable to share. A little bowl for the apple sauce and a plate for the currywurst are more useful here than a large serving board filled all at once.

You could write the three rounds on a small card and set it on the table. Keep it simple enough that there is room for the food and your glasses.

Before the evening starts, make the apple sauce and curry sauce, mix the crêpe batter and set the table. If you are preparing these earlier in the day, cool the cooked components promptly and refrigerate them appropriately until needed; keep the batter refrigerated as well.

Leave the potato grating until close to cooking. Assemble the raclette roll when you are ready to melt the cheese, and make the crêpes at the end.

This menu does involve returning to the kitchen. That is part of the plan, and the reason for keeping portions small and limiting the number of rounds. If you want to spend less time cooking, use a good ready-made apple sauce or curry sauce, or choose only two dishes.

There is plenty to love about going out to a Christmas market. This is another way to enjoy a few of those flavours when you are staying in.

For me, it would begin with the potato pancakes and apple sauce, with a crêpe waiting somewhere at the end. Everything in between can fit the evening you feel like having.