You are what you eat

Clare Dowling, novelist

Clare Dowling, novelist

Are you a foodie? "Gosh yes. My husband and I continuously moan about our weight, but I think eating is one of life's great pleasures. We're both vegetarians and like ethnic food."

Do you cook? "Only about five recipes. Stuart does the cooking, so there's no impetus for me to pull up my socks."

What's your failsafe recipe? "Risotto with asparagus and wild mushrooms. I usually cook from books, but this is one I played around with."

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Who is your favourite celebrity chef? "I don't watch cooking programmes on TV because most of them revolve around meat, but I find Delia the exception. Her veggie book is on a higher plane."

Do you entertain much? "A good bit, but to be honest, we'd rather get a babysitter and bring people to a restaurant. If we are at home, it's casual - about six in the kitchen. We do guacamole, tzatziki and pitta, followed by a veggie main course and my husband's sticky toffee pudding."

Is organic important? "Yes, but I find the sad selection of vegetables in supermarkets most unattractive."

Your favourite restaurant? "Kinara in Clontarf. Great for vegetarians. I've never tasted Indian food in Ireland like it, and the sea view is great."

What's in your fridge at the moment? "Veggies, Paneer cheese, strawberries, gluten-free soup, stir-fry sauce, Müller fruit corners, creamed coconut, Petit Filous, beer and a box of Leonidas."

How has being coeliac changed your diet? "I bake my own bread. Otherwise, I find the Tesco "Free From" range excellent, especially the pasta."

What would be your death-row last meal? "Pasta arrabiata with lots of Parmesan. Plus garlic mushrooms, chocolate and lots of red wine."

And finally Clare, if you are what you eat, then you are ... "Well, being ceoliac and vegetarian, I'd say difficult."

In conversation with Melanie Morris. Clare Dowling's latest novel, Amazing Grace, is published by Poolbeg (€10.35).