Neven Maguire - Neven Maguires Complete Family Cookbook





NEVEN
MAGUIRES
COMPLETE
FAMILY
COOKBOOK

GILL BOOKS

CONTENTS

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my very special family, who I love and cant thank enough for their support: Kenneth, Sharon, Sonya, David, Naomi, Suzanne, Alan and Karlous. I love coming from a big family, and I love eating, laughing and sharing good family times together.

Acknowledgements

To my long-term collaborator and dear friend, Orla Broderick. This was a big one! It could not have happened without you.

Thanks to Karen Convery for another wonderful styling job, and a big special thank you to my wonderful team who tested and ate their way through all the recipes in this book: Sarah Watchorn, Petra Klacanska, Riamonda Slevinskiele, Karlonia Wrobel, Moya ODwyer and Claire Beasley. We had so much fun working on this book.

Thanks to Graham Thew for an excellent book design and to Joanne Murphy and Louise OLeary for their wonderful photography. You never disappoint! Thanks also to Kristin Jensen for her fantastic editing.

A big thank you to my hard-working, very loyal head chef and best friend Glen Wheeler. Thanks also to sous chef Carmel McGirr, who organised all of the food for the photography and recipe testing. Your help is very much appreciated.

Thanks as usual to the A-Team at Gill Books, especially to Nicki Howard for her continued insight and enthusiasm. Thanks to Managing Editor, Catherine Gough, Marketing Manager, Teresa Daly, and Publicity Executive, Emma Lynam for their hard work and expertise. We did it again!

RT has played a huge part in my career. It began when John Masterson, my agent, believed in me and gave me my first break on Open House in 1998 I cant thank him enough for that and for his friendship and support. Thank you to Brian Walsh for his continued support I admire his passion for food. To David Hare, who produces my TV shows, thank you for always showing my best side you are a true gent to work with. Thanks also to Billy Keady and Ray de Brn.

A huge thanks to my friends Marty Whelan, Mary Kennedy, Marian Finucane, Ray DArcy and Aine Lawlor. I feel privileged to be on your shows and for the continued support from RT.

Thank you to Purcell Masterson for advice and support over the years and thanks particularly to Mary Tallent and the whole Purcell Masterson team. Thanks also to Colm Bradley from Hype & Holler for all your innovative ideas and great work on social media.

A big thank you to Bord Bia for their continued support, especially Aidan Cotter and Theresa Brophy. A huge thank you also to Hylda Adams, who has been a great mentor to me throughout my career. I cant thank you enough.

Thanks to Mairead Lavery, David Leydon, Joe Lenehan, Rosie McCormack and the whole Irish Farmers Journal team. I really enjoy writing for you every week.

Ive loved working with First 1,000 Days over the last three years its been brilliant. Im very lucky in Blacklion to use two wonderful food producers and suppliers, so a big thank you to Gabriel and Michael Hoy and Breda Leonard of Country Crest and often Austin Duignan from Donegal Rapeseed Oil.

A big thank you to the incredible Margaret Heffernan and her daughter, Anne, who have been so welcoming to me since I began working with Dunnes Stores on their Simply Better range, and to Diarmuid Murphy who heads the Simply Better team.

Thank you to all the media of which there are too many to mention the list would go on and on! Thank you so much for all of your support and loyalty throughout my career.

Thank you to Eoin OFlynn at Flogas for his continued support and friendship, and to Kenneth Maguire. To Andrea Doherty, whos like a guardian angel, for managing my diary and organising all my demos, and to Kieran McGovern, who minds our pennies!! Im lucky to have you as part of my team.

To my team at the restaurant, who I consider part of the family, a big thanks for all of your hard work and loyalty. You are what makes MacNean Restaurant a success. A particular thanks to Kevin Ashley, whose love and passion for growing all of our salads, herbs and vegetables is contagious.

Thank you to all my supporters, customers and people I meet all over the country. You provide such inspiration and give me great feedback about my recipes. I hope you will enjoy this book as much as my others and that it gives you a lot of inspiration to cook delicious meals for your family.

I feel very lucky and privileged to have come from a very close family. Thank you for all of your love and support, especially Amelda, Connor and Lucia, Brian and Eileen.

To all of the families out there: cook together, eat together, laugh together! I hope this book comes in handy in your kitchen.

Neven

HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM THIS COOKBOOK

Its great to know that so many of you have enjoyed the range of cookery books that I have written to date. Your feedback has been really positive, and Im delighted that I get to meet many of you at my demonstrations around the country or up in MacNeans in Blacklion. What Im hearing loud and clear is that you want the same things that I do: recipes for good, delicious and nutritious meals that are relatively easy to prepare and guaranteed to have everyone coming back for seconds.

Ive certainly kept this in mind when creating the Complete Family Cookbook. Our families are the most important people in our lives, so when it comes to mealtimes we want to give them the best we can. For me, there is nothing better than cooking and eating with people I really care about.

To help you achieve this, Ive tried to make this book much more than just a recipe collection, so Ive included my tips on shopping, menu ideas and lots of go-to basic recipes that I hope youll find yourself returning to again and again. I want you to think of this as your essential handbook to make life in the kitchen easier and more enjoyable.

The book is divided into sections that every parent wants help with:

SOSSave Our Suppers!, including practical sections like 30 Minutes Max and Mince Tonight.

Eat More Veg, for ways to sneak more veg into everyones diet.

Lunch, which is full of inspiration for packed lunches and beyond.

Bring On Breakfast!, with lots of delicious dishes to start the day.

Party Time, which includes everything youll need to get you through Christmas and other family gatherings.

Get Baking, with lots of ideas for homemade treats.

The Busy Parents Go-To Basics, which will become your best friend in the kitchen.



Work, Family and Mealtimes Finding the Right Balance

In my opinion, every parent is a working parent, gainfully employed or not. Like jugglers, we have to keep a lot of balls in the air! This book was designed for parents with busy lives, who are mindful of budgets and have children who often have incredibly busy schedules themselves. It is packed with over 300 recipes and a wealth of ideas to take away the stress of serving up something nutritious on a daily basis.

But its not all about cooking for your children; its about giving you all you need to cook for the family as a unit, children and adults alike. In our home, our twins, Connor and Lucia, are learning to appreciate our tastes, even though they dont necessarily like everything we like. Their own tastes are different, too. But more often than not we all happily eat the same thing for dinner.