A Taste of Paradise awaits at the Vegan-Friendly Nova Maldives, which has introduced a tempting new menu of delicious plant-based dishes for guests determined to be healthier and happier in 2023.
Almost everyone knows that incorporating plants into one’s diet improves health, with a significant number choosing to take things a step further by going vegan. Healthy eating is relatively easy whilst in the comforts of one’s home, but what happens when you’re on holiday?
The good news is you can give up meat but still enjoy flavoursome dishes that make the most of local produce when you travel abroad – you just have to head for the Maldives.
The Maldives has always been veggie-friendly, bursting with aromatic flavours, exotic spices and fresh, plant-based ingredients. Today, it’s an absolute paradise for vegetarians and vegans, thanks to chefs such as Sanjeet Gopee, Nova’s Executive Chef, who has just created a new plant-based menu of mouth-watering dishes, which are also lactose-free and gluten-free, at the island resort’s Flames restaurant.
“We at Nova embrace and celebrate authentic Maldivian cuisine, which offers a myriad of plant-based options,” says Sanjeet. His new menu is both imaginative and tempting.
How about Pumpkin Salad to start with, featuring grated coconut, Maldivian spinach, lime dressing and pumpkin seeds, followed by Kofta Quinoa, a quinoa dumpling with Maldivian spiced rich tomato sauce served with saffron rice? To finish, guests can choose a Coconut Tasting Platter of young coconut mousse, coconut candy and coconut truffle.
The menu includes an array of mouth-watering flavours starting from appetisers with a selection of Mezze – Hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh and roasted beetroot carpaccio, a grilled Shimeji mushroom, celery root and granny smith salad, a citrus and garden greens featuring green papaya, shaved coconut, grilled asparagus, fresh avocado, grapefruit pulp, mango-chilli dressing and pomegranate.
Soup lovers can enjoy the roasted Pumpkin soup – flavoured with nutmeg, pandan oil, and crispy pumpkin seeds. Guests will tantalise their tastebuds with the main course featuring a plant-based burger patty in an activated charcoal gluten-free bun or a quinoa and breadfruit galette.
The menu also features a braised king trumpet, with sous-vide cooked mushrooms, breadfruit rosti, grilled asparagus and confit cherry tomato. All the dessert lovers will be delighted by the flavour of the pineapple carpaccio with saffron, coconut sorbet and mint glaze or the pandan semifreddo with vegan chantilly cream and dark chocolate shortbread.
No wonder this is one of the best travel destinations for plant-based food in 2023.
“A plant-based diet is important for various reasons, including its potential to combat climate change, as switching to a plant-based diet is one of the most effective ways to reduce an individual’s carbon footprint and improve health outcomes,” says Sanjeet.
Studies have shown that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and other plant-based foods can also help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers. Plant-based foods are rich in fibre, which helps promote healthy digestion, prevent constipation and aid weight management.
A well-planned, plant-based diet can provide all the nutrients you need, including protein, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. And it tastes good!
“It also promotes animal welfare as adopting a plant-based diet is one way to reduce the demand for animal products and promote more humane and sustainable farming practices,” says Sanjeet.
“With a growing global population, there is a need to find ways to increase food security and produce that is both sustainable and nutritious. Plant-based diets can help meet these goals, as they require less land, water and other resources to produce compared to animal-based diets.”
Discover more about the full new plant-based menu via: https://nova-maldives.com/dining/flames/.
Read more dining and culinary news, features and reviews here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.