Lateral Cooking: Foreword by Yotam Ottolenghi

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In Greece and the Middle East we have a lot of syrupy cakes: it’s a way of keeping things moist and fresh in hot climates. My gran always taught me to add cold syrup to hot cakes, and vice versa, so that it absorbs properly. If both were hot, the syrup would sink to the bottom, and if both were cold, the syrup would just sit on top. I always make my sugar syrup in advance and let it cool so that it’s ready to pour over the hot cake or bake, straight out of the oven. The best way to keep a cake moist is by putting a syrup on it, so regardless of where you’re from or what kind of baking you’re doing, I think it’s good advice. How to fix a creme anglaise that has split Cook with wine or sherry that you want to drink. Don’t be tempted to buy a much cheaper bottle just for cooking, as the flavour will affect the finished dish. If in doubt, use a splash (or more) of the wine or sherry you might drink with the finished meal. And definitely don’t use a wine that’s corked – the bad taste will come through in your food. Whisk your mince A revelatory approach to cooking techniques . . . Segnit is a witty and experienced writer." - Library Journal, starred review Never apologise for your food. Your friends and family ought to be delighted that you’ve cooked for them, and if you forgot to add olives or parsley or grapefruit to a dish, they’re none the wiser as long as you don’t apologise profusely for forgetting them. Ditto if you’re running late with dinner: have extra posh crisps and plenty of wine on hand and everyone will be both mildly tipsy and oblivious.

Who’s the author? Niki Segnit is probably best known as the author of The Flavour Thesaurus, the culinary version of Roget’s Thesaurus, which listed 99 ingredients and suggested flavour matches for each of them. Lateral Cooking is designed as a companion volume to The Flavour Thesaurus. If you think a dish has enough salt but still doesn’t taste right, add fresh lemon or lime juice. It enhances the flavour immensely and will round off the flavours. It’s usually a good idea to add lemon right at the end, especially if cooking on the stovetop on a high heat.

Reviews

The groundbreaking book that reveals the principles underpinning all recipe creation, from the author of the bestselling The Flavour Thesaurus Lateral Cooking is essentially a practical book, but like The Flavour Thesaurus it's also a highly enjoyable read. The 'Flavours & Variations' sections, for example, draw widely on culinary science, history, ideas from professional kitchens, observations by renowned food writers and personal recollection. Lateral Cooking is, in a sense, the ‘method’ companion to its bestselling predecessor, The Flavour Thesaurus – and is just as useful, ingeniously organised and enjoyable to read. The way that people cut their vegetables differently always interests me. Different households have different ways. There’s no clear rule, but you can definitely get it wrong, like if you end up with huge chunks of onion in your risotto. Add cold syrup to hot cake, hot syrup to cold cake

Segnit’s book is about highlighting such links, but it is about other things, too: repeating recipes until they are drilled into your head; being unafraid to make mistakes; recognising that there is no “correct” way; accepting that each dish allows a certain amount of leeway; getting a sense for how things look and feel. This latter point becomes apparent when we move onto pizza dough while our flatbreads rest. Instead of relying on scales or measuring cups, Segnit encourages me to knead away while adding flour or water until the dough feels soft and silky. When it feels perfect, we put it aside to prove. Knowledgeable and humorous, with a focus on flavour and technique, this cookbook is informative, useful and sure to become a kitchen bible to many (Guardian ‘Best Books of 2018’) My mum’s amusing if retrograde tip, which she read in an American magazine in the 1970s, is: lay the table first, so your returning husband, or arriving guests, will think you’re further on with dinner than you really are. I ignore this (as does she: Dad lays the table at theirs), but I enjoy the general message that the illusion of having everything under control can help make it so. Horseradish sauce needs sugar; keep your utensils closeThe cookbooks that teach you the most are the rare ones, experimental or not, that are so well written that you find yourself reading them greedily on a perpetual loop. Lateral Cooking is one of them (Bee Wilson Times Literary Supplement) Should I buy it? 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. If you already have a decent cookbook collection and are an accomplished cook, you may want to carefully consider how likely you are to cook through the book in the manner intended. However, it may fill a gap in your collection as a modern reference work.