Svatomartinská husa – roast goose, lokše and the 11th of November 🦢

On November 11th, Czech tradition says Saint Martin arrives on a white horse – bringing the first snow, the first young wine, and one glorious dinner: roast goose with cabbage and lokše. If there is a cozier way to surrender to winter, we have not found it.

The goose dinner is a celebration meal – slow, golden, unhurried. And the best part is that most of the work is done by the oven while you set the table and argue about who gets the leg.

The goose (for 4–6)

1. Season a whole goose generously with salt and caraway, inside and out, ideally a day ahead.

2. Roast breast-down at 160 °C for about 2 hours, then turn, baste with its own fat, and roast 1.5–2 hours more until the skin crackles. A Tescoma deep roaster catches every drop of the precious fat – do not throw it away, it is liquid gold for future potatoes.

The cabbage

Simmer white sauerkraut (or red cabbage) with onion, a spoon of goose fat, a pinch of sugar and caraway until soft and glossy.

The lokše – with a shortcut

Lokše are thin potato pancakes, and here is the trick nobody will notice: make the dough from BASK potato dumpling mix instead of boiling potatoes. Mix, rest, roll thin circles, and dry-fry them on a hot pan. Brush with goose fat, and suddenly you are a lokše expert.

Quick tips

• Pour a glass of young wine – or mull an ordinary bottle with mulled wine spices for the non-purists at the table.
• No goose in your local shop? Duck follows the exact same recipe and fits smaller ovens.
• Leftover goose fat + bread + salt = the unofficial best part of the whole holiday.

Wherever you are, we’re happy to bring a little taste of Czech home to your table.