Favourite summer food

I have a lot of summer favourites in food. I just love eating fresh peas straight from the pods, boiled or grilled new potatoes, fresh berries, seasonal mushrooms, fresh onions, watermelons etc. It's just nice to eat all kinds of colourful food right now.

An ensemble of fried halloumi, mac'n'cheese, carrots, red cabbage, pickled red cabbage, slow-roasted tomatoes and fresh green leaves is just the type of plateful that I really want to be eating in the summertime, especially in this current heat. This plate was just assembled more or less from left-overs, which is always sensible.

This sort of dish can basically be any seasonal vegetables or berries with a bit of protein and carbohydrates on the side, and should ideally require minimal heating.

What do you like eating in the summer?

Your VegHog

Halloumi pasta

It's another sunny Saturday morning, and I'm so happy to have a slow and quiet breakfast moment after I cleaned the flat a little bit. Soon we'll go to town to do some shopping, and then take the harbour bus to a lovely beer garden and street food market. This is all I need for today. Do you have some weekend plans?

During this summer I want to experiment more with halloumi pastas. I just love the contrast of soft pasta with firm fried halloumi with some added veggies. I made this pasta dish with of course halloumi and bell peppers and tomatoes as the main vegetables. It was a really nice mix.

Halloumi pasta

Ingredients

200 g halloumi

1 yellow bell pepper

6 medium tomatoes

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

Fresh basil leaves

Penne pasta

Method

Chop the veg and start frying the onion in olive oil. Fry it until it’s soft and add the bell pepper.

After a while add the tomatoes, garlic and seasoning and let simmer under the lid.

Cut the halloumi into pieces and fry the pieces in a separate pan until they are crispy and golden brown on the surface. Then mix them to the sauce.

Cook the pasta, and add a little of the pasta cooking water to the sauce.

Mix everything and serve!

Have a great weekend!

Your VegHog

White asparagus pasta with a tomato and mozzarella salad

It has been a lazy weekend for me, and the Sunday shall continue the same way. We will just go to town shortly and then for dinner to a friend's place. It's still sunny, and the plants are desperate for some rain, but some has finally been forecast for next week. Before that, we will definitely enjoy this warm Sunday, as there is another busy week ahead.

Light pasta dishes are simply the best in this hot season, especially as you can get all the lovely seasonal produce. Now I made a white asparagus pasta with some fresh pea shoots on the top accompanied by a tomato, olive and mozzarella salad. It was a really nice light dinner, and I'm sure that I will have many more dishes like this during the summer.

White asparagus pasta

Ingredients

Fresh spinach tagliatelle

Bunch of white asparagus

1 fresh onion

2 garlic cloves

25 g butter

100 ml white wine

1 lemon's juice

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

Fresh pea shoots as topping

Served with a fresh tomato, mozzarella and olive salad on the side.

Method

Prepare the asparagus by peeling it and cutting it into small pieces.

Chop the onion and garlic finely.

Melt the butter in a pan and start lightly frying the asparagus.

After a couple of minutes, also add the onion and garlic, followed in couple of minutes by the white wine and lemon juice.

Let simmer for a few moments, and season with sea salt and ground black pepper.

Cook the pasta, and mix it with the sauce.

Serve with the salad and enjoy!

Your VegHog

Corn cobs with chilli butter

And once again we have summer on the plate here. I'm thrilled about the seasonal corn cobs that I can buy in my local vegetable market. They are such an easy summer food, just boil them a bit and you're ready to go. Of course they are also an brilliant addition for all sorts of veggie barbeques.

I served these corn cobs just with homemade chilli butter, fried halloumi and some tomatoes, and a tasty meal was ready. What is your favourite combo with corn cobs?

I hope you've had a nice weekend and are ready for a new week. I'm starting my Danish language classes tomorrow evening, so I'm a bit excited about going back to school. I like language learning, but who knows if I can still pick up things at this age!

Have a good week!

Your VegHog