Lateral Cooking: Foreword by Yotam Ottolenghi

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That said, it is a book to inspire serious cooks, particularly those who want to be experimental and step away from the rigid adherence to the recipe. The recipes in each chapter are then arranged on a continuum, the transition from one recipe to another generally amounting to a tweak or two in the method or ingredients.

Please Note: By their very nature, all signed books will have been handled several times before they get to you. So, in addition to the flavouring suggestions, each starting point recipe comes with a list of ‘leeway’ bullet points that illustrate the different ways the basic recipe can be prepared and variations in ingredients (and this is before you get on to the more major variations of the flavouring suggestions).

If you don’t own a copy of Larousse Gastronomique, Le guide culinaire by Escoffier or La Repertoire de la Cuisine and are a novice cook who wants to take a more serious approach to learning the craft, then Lateral Cooking will fit the bill. Most of the times, you miss one ingredients and need to replace it with something, you are short on time and need to cut a corner etc. Once you have the hang of each starting point, a wealth of flavour possibilities awaits, each related in Niki's signature combination of culinary science, history, chefs' wisdom and personal anecdote. There are some fully written recipes with all kinds of great substitutions or variations but most of the book is like an encyclopedia with embedded recipes in food entries. This book shows the many ways ingredients can be replaced, how there's always leeway in a dish, and how just the smallest changes can take you into new territory.

Niki Segnit had not so much as peeled a potato until her early twenties, when, almost by accident, she discovered that she loved cooking. Kind of preferred The Flavour Thesaurus to this one (not a criticism in an way) but as a ginger fiend, took to the ginger loaf like a fish to water (the recipe is delicious). Otherwise, I’m not sure this book would be the first I’d reach for when planning a weekly household menu for example. Once you have the hang of each starting point, a wealth of new flavour combinations awaits, each related in Niki's signature combination of culinary science, history, chefs' wisdom and personal anecdote.

Whether or not you like the book will depend on how willing you are to go with Segnit’s basic conceit of the cooking continuum, how important you feel it is to understand cooking from that perspective and if you agree that it will turn you into an instinctive cook (if you are not one already) and if that’s what you want to be. Much as she enjoys haute cuisine, she’s not likely to reproduce it at home, preferring to experiment with recipes from domestic kitchens abroad. Once you've got the hang of flatbreads, for instance, then its neighboring dishes (crackers, soda bread, scones) will involve the easiest and most intuitive adjustments.

Op een vermakelijke manier laat Segnit je zien hoe gerechten ‘werken’ en hoe je zelf kunt gaan experimenteren, bedenken en ontdekken. Which is to say, one dish leads to another: once you’ve got the hang of flatbreads, for instance, then its neighbouring dishes on the continuum (crackers, soda bread, scones) will involve the easiest and most intuitive adjustment. So, for example, in the potato gnocchi entry Segnit tells you about the flour potato weight and add flour in patient increments but there is no explicit recipe. My new favourite and I would recommend it to anyone who is comfortable enough cooking to break away from the traditional recipe layout and bend the rules. Our bold but simple approach to the design evolved out of the unique structure and extensive content of Lateral Cooking, making it enjoyable and accessible for the reader.Alongside the illustrations, other design details such as a repeated arrow motif, stepped painted edges and footnote-styled supporting texts reflect and experiment with the visual language of traditional reference books. The recipes in each chapter are arranged on a continuum, passing from one to another with just a tweak or two to the method or ingredients. We created over 400 original illustrations for the book to bring the words and ideas within its extensive text to life, reflecting Segnit’s desire for suggestive rather than prescriptive imagery to accompany her writing.