Enjoy the versatility of vegetables!

just thinking about summer and fresh vegetables is enough to make your mouth water. I love the range of summer markets and just the thought of it sets my imagination running. Sometimes I also feel like buying all the vegetables and greens I can find at the market. Not forgetting the super sweet berries! Below you'll find tips on cooking vegetables and a lovely summer salad recipe!

Although vegetables are lovely to nibble on as they are, cooking them brings out the flavours of the vegetables. Whichever way you cook them, it's best to cook them a little too little rather than too much. Overcooked vegetables easily lose their flavour. Here are some examples of different ways of preparing vegetables to give you a change of pace!
Grill some fruit and vegetables or cabbage for a summer salad. You can get a nice stripe on the tops of vegetables even with a light grilling. Oil the surface to be grilled before putting it on the barbecue. And only grill lightly so that the ingredients don't brown!
Psst! did you know that you can also put our range of frying pans on the grill? Or that the Plancha replaces the grill in the home kitchen? Plancha is a wonderful summer mood booster, especially in rainy weather and winter!

Sautéing vegetables in a generous amount of butter (my favourite!) or a small drizzle of oil (or oil-butter mix) brings out their sweetness. It's also worth adding spices. The smell of cracked black pepper is absolutely intoxicating (try my mum's cacio e pepe recipe).
Use enough fat for frying/grilling so that the end result is not too dry.

To make the caramelized vegetables, fry them in honey milk. A summer salad with caramelised little fresh carrots is so good! Caramelised vegetables and greens are also great in woks. Caramelising adds a lovely sweet & sour flavour to dishes!

Roast the vegetables in the oven. Oven roasting enhances their flavour and roasted vegetables add a lovely depth of flavour to soups and pasta sauces. But be aware of the different roasting times for different ingredients, for example, garlic roasted for too long can taste a little bitter. A shallow roasting pan is best for roasting. See our recipe for a lovely roasted red pepper soup using a shallower baking dish to prevent the root vegetables from drying out too much. The oven temperature should not be higher than 200-220 degrees to prevent the vegetables from burning. Remember to turn the vegetables halfway through so that they cook evenly. Add a few sprigs of herbs on top, they add a lovely flavour (and a lovely smell!). You'll find a delicious recipe by cooking them in a vegetable stock. Or pre-cook in a little water al dente and fry the surface to stick on a frying pan or grill.

Steaming is a gentler way to get the vegetables just right than boiling. Cauliflower and broccoli are much tastier and more enjoyable when steamed rather than boiled. I personally like to add a little lemon to season steamed vegetables.

Simmer the vegetables in a baking pan or saucepan. Steaming makes wonderful vegetable curries and stews, but note that the time it takes to simmer depends on the vegetables. You can use a liquid other than water, such as coconut milk. You can add flavour and spices with a spice ball.

Warm summer salad

A bunch of carrots
A bunch of asparagus
Grill or halloumi cheese
strawberries
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Butter
olive oil
salt and pepper
Honey

Fry the cheese in a pan. If you are using halloumi, you can put the cheese directly into the pan without oil, as the cheese has liquid in it. If you use grilled cheese, add a little oil before putting the cheese in the pan. Cut the carrots into four pieces. Fresh carrots do not need to be peeled.
Cut off the wooden ends of the asparagus. Small domestic asparagus do not need to be peeled before use either. Brown the butter in a pan. Then add a little olive oil and, if you like, a few cloves of garlic. Sauté the carrots first and then the broccoli. Add more oil if necessary. Add salt, black pepper and honey to the pan as you cook. Chop the cabbage and sauté it next. Be sure to add a generous amount of salt to the cabbage. Place the salad in a shallow serving dish. Top with a lovely variety of salad leaves and the peeled lettuce. Add the carrots and asparagus. Crumble cauliflower over the top. Finally, top the salad with cheese and strawberries. Even if the weather is scorching hot, it's good to remember to eat something warm. A warm summer salad is just the thing!

Enjoy cooking!

Turkulaisen kirjoittajan Alessia Moborgin suonissa virtaa neljäsosa italialaista ja neljäsosa ruotsalaista verta. Tämä maailmankansalainen on vieraillut lähes kaikissa maailman maanosissa, ja tuokin matkoiltaan inspiraatiota omaan kokkailuun. Alessialla on silmää kauneudelle ja se näkyy myös hänen leipomuksissaan. Seuraa Alessian kauniita hetkiä Instagramissa.