Toulouse Christmas Market

Mulled wine, churros and gourmet hotdogs.

Really i think that’s all I need to say about the Toulouse Christmas market to inspire you to come here and check it out for yourself. I have been to a few Christmas markets over the years and I can honestly say Toulouse has been the best. Where I’m from, Galway, there is a small Christmas market and it is lovely, there’s a great atmosphere, some nice stalls and its very festive. However in terms of size Toulouse beats it hands down, there are over a hundred stalls. Given the size of the market I’m going to break it down into a few posts, today : food.

There are a few must eats, the first being aligot. This is something you may never have heard of and I’m actually quite surprised we don’t have it in Ireland! So what is aligot? Basically its cheesy potato, what i mean by that is that its mashed potato which is half potato half cheese. The cheese gives it a stringy ltexture like melted mozarella. The french eat this aligot as it is and it is delicious! Its simple but tasty, try it once and you’ll have to go back for more.

The “hot dogs” are another must. Toulouse sausage is famous so you can be assured these hot dogs are not the american street cart variety. Whats more given the fact that the French are very proud of their bread, as they should be, the bread is not stale or dry its proper french bread. This combination of good quality meat, good quality bread all topped with sauteed onions….I’m hungry.

If you are just visiting Toulouse you must get a crepe. I don’t think i need to explain this one. However if like me you have been living in France all summer and so consumed many a crepe I recommend the churros. I have had a love affair with churros from a very young age. These spanish treats are best covered in sugar and dipped in Nutella…Not recommended if you are on a diet!

There’s a few stalls I have yet to try out, I know there are pretezls, baked potatos, cheese tarts and more. If you have a more adventurous taste pallet apparently the duck heart sandwich is good.

Next time : drink!

Until then happy holiday season