Parmesan
I add it to pasta, or
enjoy fine shavings
with pear or apple.FOODS MAEVE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
Spices
Before you use them,
toast them in a
dry pan.3
I certainly don’t
hold myself back
from delicious
food!
❛
❜
I don’t subscribe to moderation. If I love
something then I embrace it wholeheartedly and
certainly don’t hold myself back from delicious food.
My motto is ‘life’s too short to eat bad meals’!
Breakfast always starts with a good coffee,
followed by eggs with za’atar spice mix, flatbread
and some mint, cucumber and sliced tomato. I also
love Greek yoghurt with good-quality honey and
fruit. My heart beats for both sweet and savoury!
I also try to exercise every morning. It’s great for my
head and allows me to eat a bit more of what I like.
At home, I do most of the cooking
for the family. I use recipes that I’ve
collected over the years. For example,
I make a great pasta sauce based on a
Guy Grossi recipe, or a spanakopita from
a Greek Food Safari. I’m loving seafood
at the moment too, and I often recreate
meals that we have shot that day.
There’s a lot of joy in having a big family
dinner when the kids come back home.
We all sit at the table together and eat and enjoy.
My kids have been lucky to have access to so many
different worlds — not just the food but the people
as well. They’ve grown up eating Ramadan dinners
and enjoyed endless feasts with our Italian friends.
A lot of the people I’ve met through the show have
been part of my children’s upbringing as well.
My pantry has changed a
lot since filming Food Safari
Earth. There are lots more pulses,
lentils and nuts, which are full of
flavour and incredibly versatile.There are so many
techniques you can
use to cook vegies.
We need to see vegetables as
some of the great ingredients
of the earth rather than
something we have to eat.
They’re delicious and cheap, and
there’s so much you can do with
them. Invest in good olive oil
and vinegar, or buy good salad
dressings. Anything coated in a
whisper of dressing tastes delicious.If I had to eat one cuisine for
the rest of my life it would
be Lebanese food. I love their
mezze way of eating — dips, salads,
legumes, show-stopping fish and
of course, the beautiful sweets.The best way you can satisfy a
sweet craving is fresh Medjool
dates. They’re easily available and
are so delicious. I also love fresh
and dried figs. But I do have a
taste for good chocolate, Turkish
delight and baklava. I could go on
and on. Really enjoying food is one
of life’s supreme pleasures!Fresh herbs
Buy them or grow
your own!Maeve learns
recipes from
home cooks
around the
world!NOVEMBER 2017 HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 19