Wilma, the volunteer chef.

Summer’s here and so begins the reign of yummy vegetables! And Wilma, our young volunteer chef from Sweden, knows all about how you can combine, mix and use them to create a perfectly delicious summer meal. She had a bunch of delicious recipes for the participants to make – including filled zucchini boats, beetroot hummus, bulgur salad, cabbage salad and an absolutely delicious apple cheesecake! Learn how to make these delicious summer treats below.

How to make crispy, sweet and fresh filled zucchini boats:

• 150 grams red lentils, boiled and cooled
• 2-3 zucchini
• 200 grams basil
• 200 grams baby spinach
• 50 grams pine nuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, or mixture of those
• 200 grams grated Parmesan
• 200 grams cream cheese or ricotta
• 200 grams feta or goat cheese
• 1 lemon
• 200 ml olive oil
• 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Roast the seeds in a dry pan or in the oven. After they are done roasting, set them aside to cool them down a bit. Meanwhile, grate the Parmesan cheese. Mix basil, lemon juice, spinach, garlic and oil in a mixer until smooth. Add the roasted seeds with salt and pepper and mix roughly. Pulse in the grated Parmesan – but be careful with the mixing, because it can easily get doughy! Now you have your pesto ready.

Mix the cream cheese or ricotta with a hand mixer to fluff it up a bit, then mix in the pesto so it becomes a smooth filling. For the lentils, you have two options – if they are falling apart, you should put them at the bottom of your zucchini. If the lentils are al dente, you can fold them into the pesto filling.

Rinse the zucchini and cut them in half. Scrape out the soft part with seeds and set aside for bulgur salad. Put the zucchini shells on a tray and drizzle some oil and salt on them. Roast them in the oven for 25 min at 200, until they get a light golden colour.

When they are done it’s time to put the filling in! Crumble up the feta or goats cheese on top for extra yumminess. Stick the zucchini boats in the oven again until the crumbled cheese turns gold and it smells like heaven.

How to make tasty cabbage salad:

• 1 head of white cabbage
• 1 green apple
• 1 radish
• 1 beetroot
• 1 small bunch of coriander
• 1-2 red chillies
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
  

Directions:

Cut the cabbage and apple finely. Grate the radish and beetroot. Chop the coriander and chilli in small pieces. Mix everything together and massage in the oil and lemon juice. You can also zest the lemon and sprinkle it on the salad.

How to make deliciously comforting bulgur salad:

• 400 grams bulgur
• 200 grams cherry tomatoes
• 3 carrots
• 3 zucchini (only inside parts)
• 1 red chilli
• 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 cloves of fresh garlic
• parsley and coriander (for garnish)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

First, squeeze out the water from the zucchini. Peel and dice the carrots. Chop the chilli and peel and finely chop the garlic. Put everything on an oven tray and add a generous amount of oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 180 for 40 minutes.

Add enough boiled, salted water to the bulgur to soften it, leaving it to soak. Once the bulgur is nice and fluffy, drain excess water and add vegetables from the oven. Add lemon juice and herbs as a garnish.

How to make creamy beetroot hummus:

• 3-4 beetroots
• 2 tins chickpeas
• 4 tablespoons honey
• salt and pepper
• 100 ml olive oil
• 5 cloves of fresh garlic

Directions:

Peel the beets and cut them into small chunks. Place them on a tray with the honey and some oil. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes at 150. Leave to cool.

Next, drain the chickpeas. Mix the beetroots with the oil and garlic until smooth. Add the chickpeas and mix until you get a smooth, hummus-like consistency. If the consistency is too dry, add more oil or water.

How to make the perfect apple cheesecake:

• 5 red apples
• 2 tablespoons grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons lemon (plus zest)
• 2 tablespoons cardamom
• 1 knob of butter
• 5 tablespoons honey
• 70 grams of  butter, melted
• 250 grams crumbly oat cookies
• 500 grams Philadelphia cream cheese
• 3 eggs
• 100 grams sugar
• 100 grams sour cream
• 3 tablespoons cornflour
• 3 tablespoons cinnamon

Peel the apples and cut them into small chunks. Melt butter and honey in a pan, and then add the apples together with the spices and ginger. Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes or until really soft. Mix in a blender until smooth – if too thick, then add water. As you want a smooth mixture without, run the mixture through a strainer eventually to weed out any remaining chunks. 

Mix cookies and melted butter in a mixer and press it out in a spring form. Pre-bake it at 150 for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the Philadelphia cream cheese and sugar with a hand mixer. Add one egg at a time, and then the sour cream, cinnamon and cornflour. Mix in the apple puree. Add this mixture to the pre-baked base.

Cover it with tin foil and bake for 45-50 minutes at 150. Let cool completely, and enjoy!

Here are some photos from the workshop:

Photography by Friederike Ruge.