Danish "Italian" salad (Italiensk salat)

1. Cook the macaroni in salted water for the time on the packet, drain, rinse with cold water and let it drain completely.

2. Peel the carrots, cut them into small cubes and boil in salted water for 5 minutes.

3. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus, cut the spears into 1 cm pieces, add to the carrots and cook for another 2-3 minutes, adding the peas for the last minute.

4. Drain the vegetables, plunge them into ice-cold water to keep their colour, then drain them very well.

5. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise with the macaroni and vegetables and season with salt and pepper.

6. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving; serve on sandwiches, smørrebrød or with ham.

Tip: Danish italiensk salat gets its name from its colours: green peas, white mayonnaise and orange carrots recall the Italian flag. Its classic place is on top of ham smørrebrød, but it's also great as a salad on its own. The key is that the vegetables are completely cold and dry, otherwise the mayonnaise turns runny.