If you’ve just run 26.2 miles, you can have whatever the hell you want, and most likely you’ll be craving a plateful of carbohydrates today. And they’ll most likely come in the form of one of the three Ps: pasta, pizza, potatoes.
If you plan on satisfying your hunger with a big bowl of pasta, wholegrain is a better choice than white pasta. Likewise, if pizza is your medicine, choose a wholewheat base over one made with refined white flour.
Here is a selection of carb-heavy recipes from The Irish Times archive that should appeal to tired marathon runners, and Bank Holiday couch potatoes too.
PASTA
Vanessa Greenwood's linguine with garlic and hazelnut crumble can be made in 20 minutes, uses storecupboard ingredients, and is served on a slice of toasted ciabatta – so you're getting a double carb whammy in one bowl.
If you're looking for a more luxxurious, creamy pasta, Donal Skehan's fuzi pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce might fit the bill. You might not feel like cranking the pasta rollers after the day's exertions, and in the absence of a willing kitchen hand to do the hard work for you, just ignore his instructions to make your own pasta and use any shape of dried pasta that you have in your cupboard.
The same writer's one-pot stovetop lasagne might take 70 minutes to cook, but the wash-up is minimal, and and the taste is maximum.
PIZZA
Roz Purcell's mini oat pizzas are a healthy option to satisfy cravings for a starchy base topped with delicious things. They're made with oat flour and natural yoghurt, and "you'll never order takeaway pizza again", she says.
Self raising flour and yoghurt feature in the recipe for the base for these basil and pinenut flatbreads with proscuitto and Parmesan, so once againthere's no waiting around for the dough to prove.
POTATOES
Dublin coddle is having a bit of a moment, and Donal Skehan's adaptation turns in into more of a sausage and potato bake, with the addition of pearl barley too.
A big bowl of fluffy mash can be very comforting, but Vanessa Greenwood's Aloo Gobi has the advantage of having a kick of spice, and you'll get an additional vegetable ticked off your five-a-day with the cauliflower.
Domini Kemp's cheesy baked potato skins are stuffed with bacon, cheese and creme fraiche – what's not to like about that, especially after 26.2 miles.
SOUP
You can get your carbs in soup fashion with this recipe from Lilly Higgins for roasted red pepper and tomato soup with Welsh rarebit on the side.
