The Flavour Thesaurus: Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook by Niki Segnit

Search this book for Recipes »
    • Categories: Soups; Dessert
    • Ingredients: flaked almonds; cream; caster sugar; cocoa powder; dark chocolate
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Dessert
    • Ingredients: sweet pastry tart cases; cardamom pods; cream; dark chocolate; crème fraîche
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Dessert
    • Ingredients: sweet pastry tart cases; cream; milk chocolate; nutmeg
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    • Categories: Cakes, large; Dessert; North African
    • Ingredients: sugar; self-raising flour; cardamom seeds; instant coffee powder
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    • Categories: Cocktails / drinks (with alcohol)
    • Ingredients: oranges; coffee beans; sugar cubes; brandy
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    • Categories: Salads; Side dish; Vegan; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: carrots; roasted salted peanuts; sesame oil
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    • Categories: Stir-fries; Main course; Chinese
    • Ingredients: chicken breasts; light soy sauce; Shaoxing rice wine; spring onions; dried chillies; black rice vinegar; oyster sauce; sesame oil; groundnut oil; fresh ginger; peanuts
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    • Categories: Dressings & marinades; Indonesian; Vegan; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: peanuts; soy sauce; palm sugar; limes; shallots; chillies; coconut milk
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    • Categories: Chutneys, pickles & relishes; Indian; Vegan; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: cucumbers; peanuts; tinned green chillies; desiccated coconut; lemons; sugar; ground cumin
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    • Categories: Stews & one-pot meals; Main course; West African
    • Ingredients: onions; red chillies; meat of your choice; canned tomatoes; tomato paste; bay leaves; peanut butter; green peppers; root vegetables of your choice
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    • Categories: Stews & one-pot meals; Main course
    • Ingredients: peppers of your choice; chicken thighs
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    • Categories: Main course; French
    • Ingredients: whole chicken; dry white wine; strong mustard; Comté cheese
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    • Categories: Soups
    • Ingredients: cooked chicken meat; chillies; tortillas; chicken stock; tomatoes; ground cinnamon; garlic; ground allspice; black peppercorns; limes; coriander leaves
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    • Categories: Stews & one-pot meals; Main course; Christmas
    • Ingredients: partridges; smoked bacon; shallots; pears; chestnuts
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    • Categories: Main course; Chinese
    • Ingredients: Shaoxing rice wine; soy sauce; whole star anise; cinnamon sticks; fresh ginger; garlic; rice; spring onions
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    • Categories: Main course
    • Ingredients: pork tenderloin; garlic; fennel seeds; fennel
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    • Categories: Pasta, doughs & sauces; Main course
    • Ingredients: Italian pork sausages; broccoli; orecchiette pasta
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    • Categories: Dressings & marinades; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: honey; ground cumin
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    • Categories: Egg dishes; Main course; British
    • Ingredients: pork shoulder; streaky bacon; hard-boiled eggs; breadcrumbs; oil
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    • Categories: Stews & one-pot meals; Main course; Philippine
    • Ingredients: pork shoulder; garlic; soy sauce; rice vinegar; bay leaves; groundnut oil
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    • Categories: Side dish; Philippine; Vegan; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: rice; garlic; shallots; soy sauce
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    • Categories: Pasta, doughs & sauces; Stir-fries; Main course; Chinese
    • Ingredients: roasted salted peanuts; groundnut oil; red chillies; pork mince; soy sauce; egg noodles; chicken stock; sesame oil; chilli oil
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    • Categories: Pasta, doughs & sauces; Main course; Italian
    • Ingredients: pork and fennel sausages; canned tomatoes
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    • Categories: Dips, spreads & salsas; Side dish; Thai
    • Ingredients: chillies; lemongrass; shallots; garlic; shrimp paste; tomatoes; minced pork; fish sauce; palm sugar
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Notes about this book

  • RaySadler on April 10, 2015

    Appears to parallel the original English version, but with Americanized references - rutabaga for swede, cilantro for coriander, etc., and cup measurements for those who haven't mastered metric!

  • wester on March 05, 2014

    This book is excellent for those occasions when you have one or two ingredients and no inspiration for what to do with them. Just look up an ingredient and take a look at her suggestions. Sometimes there will be a recipe, sometimes it's more like a hint, but if you have enough experience cooking you will know what to do with the hints as well. I use this one a lot.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Coffee and orange liqueur

    • wester on March 05, 2014

      Made this with wodka and artificial sweetener. Very nice.

  • Chicken and bell peppers

    • wester on February 04, 2016

      Simplicity itself, and very tasty. Both adults and children really liked it. This will definitely go into regular rotation.

  • Fish-fragrant aubergines

    • wester on November 08, 2014

      Excellent. No fish but very fragrant indeed. The kids loved it too (although I might have to leave out the Szechuan pepper next time or grind it even finer - they kept picking bits of it out of the dish). Will repeat.

  • Mushroom and pecorino sauce

    • wester on May 13, 2014

      Lovely. An earthy cheesy sauce with a green and nutty background. The amounts aren't given in this recipe - I used quite a lot of parsley.

  • Autumn panzanella

    • wester on November 19, 2014

      Simple and very tasty. Husband liked it a lot, daughter quite liked it by the time she had been persuaded to try it, which means there weren't many sprouts left. Oven temperature needs to be slightly higher. I left out bread and cranberries.

  • Globe artichoke and pancetta baked rigatoni

    • wester on January 04, 2015

      Very good. Very rich, which is occasionally cut by the artichokes. Replaced the breadcrumbs by slivered almonds, and for the carb-restricted replaced the rigatoni with cauliflower florets, blanched in salted water (or steamed over the rigatoni pan).

    • sosayi on November 29, 2017

      Warming, yummy and fairly easy dinner to put together. I doubled (at least) the amount of artichoke and added some fresh sage to the pancetta/onion/garlic mixture that gets sauteed. I also had shredded mozzarella on hand and used that instead of fresh. Not sure if I'd go out of my way to buy the ingredients just to make this, but having it all on hand again would definitely prompt me to make it. If that makes any sense. :)

  • Dill and pork Chinese dumplings

    • wester on March 05, 2014

      Nice but a bit dry. Might be better with sherry instead of shaoxing.

  • Walnut and celery soup

    • wester on December 23, 2013

      A good idea. I used celeriac instead of potato and added a bit of walnut oil, to increase both main flavors, and I added a squeeze of lemon juice. The end result was very good.

  • Gallina en pepitoria

    • wester on April 13, 2017

      As written, this was quite bland. I doubled the sherry and added a good splash of vinegar, and then it was very good.

  • Landlubber's cakes

    • wester on December 26, 2014

      The cakes fell apart completely, but maybe I didn't follow the recipe closely enough. The flavour was good but not as good as I've come to expect from this book. May be worth tweaking.

  • Barbecued chicken with coconut

    • wester on September 12, 2016

      A good coconut sauce for chicken. No amounts are given, nor are the "spices" specified (I used cumin and coriander), but just a bit of all the ingredients works out fine. I also added some Thai basil - I think normal basil or cilantro would be good too.

  • Yoghurt with fried egg and sage

    • eatdrinkstagger on September 06, 2020

      I think garlic and butter should be listed (and chilli as optional). The recipe suggests poached eggs, and fried eggs as an alternative method.

  • Pesto scones

    • alexthepink on December 04, 2019

      Made with left-over pesto from Jamie Cooks Italy. I patted them out rather than rolling them and didn't knead the dough. They still didn't rise quite as well as standard scones but tasted great and it was a nice easy way to use up some pesto.

  • Cardamom and mango lassi

    • Melanie on January 09, 2016

      Tasty drink that makes enough to serve 2. Not a huge mango flabour which suited me well. Added a touch of maple syrup to sweeten and extra cardamom.

  • Coffee-iced cardamom cake

    • digifish_books on May 29, 2015

      Very nice, delicate flavour combination. I used a mortar and pestle to grind the cardamom seeds and the resulting powder had a much fresher flavour than store-bought ground cardamom.

  • Roquefort and walnut salad

    • Barb_N on August 28, 2019

      I wanted a bitter/sour flavor profile to complement Diana Henry’s Spiced chicken on melting onions with preserved lemon (from Crazy Water Pickled Lemon). I was a bit skeptical about the cream in the vinaigrette but it balanced the cider vinegar perfectly. Always on the lookout for flavorful crunchy sides with produce available in winter (planning ahead).

  • Butternut squash, bean and rosemary stew

    • tekobo on January 13, 2017

      Made using purgatory beans and home grown galeux d'eysines squash. A lovely warming side or vegetarian main course.

  • Shogayaki

  • Beetroot and goat's cheese risotto

    • sosayi on October 09, 2018

      Not much need for a risotto recipe, true, but we really enjoyed how the dollops of goat's cheese softened and then melted into the bites of risotto. Used a light homemade beef stock in place of vegetable broth, which worked nicely, as well.

  • Goat's cheese and garlic pizza

    • sosayi on April 19, 2020

      A great combination of flavors for a pizza topping. With roasted garlic in the freezer, this was simple to throw together. Would repeat.

  • Coconut custard

    • Pamsy on November 01, 2020

      This is basically the same recipe as in The Slow Cooker Cookbook (not indexed) which is actually the one I made. Used Vermont granulated maple sugar which gave a wonderful flavour and slightly took the edge of the coconut milk (in a good way). Good to have a custard type dessert without dairy. Baked in the slow cooker for 3 hours in plastic lidded pudding bowls and chilled overnight. Easy to turn out. Would be good with a fruit compote. Easy to prep with only 3 ingredients. I can see me making this quite often.

  • Parsnip and pea soup

    • Pamsy on April 29, 2018

      Delicious soup with an incredible vibrant green colour. I added 1tsp of fennel seeds which really complemented the flavours. Easy to make and used up a load of slightly scruffy parsnips.

  • Broccoli, pancetta, pine nut and sun-dried tomato linguine

    • cewuk on February 23, 2020

      Great recipe. We don’t like the texture of sun-dried tomatoes, so we substituted them for Waitrose sun-dried tomato paste - worked a treat. Pine nuts add a great flavour. Will definitely make again.

  • Blue cheese and sage sauce

    • chef.j on June 27, 2021

      Served on 1/2 lb pasta with browned breakfast sausage and lightly sauteed chopped sugar snap peas. This was SO GOOD that I actually licked my bowl. Tasted like springtime. The gorgonzola sauce wasn't overpowering at all, just delicious, and the sage-y, pork-y breakfast sausage added nice depth.

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Reviews about this book

  • Stonesoup

    I love it because it’s such a brilliant reference for when you’re in the kitchen looking for inspiration of a new flavour combo for old favourite ingredients.

    Full review
  • ISBN 10 0747599777
  • ISBN 13 9780747599777
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Jun 21 2010
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 400
  • Language English
  • Countries United Kingdom
  • Publisher Bloomsbury

Publishers Text

Ever wondered why one flavour works with another? Or lacked inspiration for what to do with a bundle of beetroot? The Flavour Thesaurus is the first book to examine what goes with what, pair by pair. The book follows the form of Roget's Thesaurus. The back section lists, alphabetically, 99 popular ingredients, and suggests classic and less well known flavour matches for each. The front section contains an entry for every flavour match listed in the back section and is organised into 16 flavour themes such a Bramble & Hedge, Green & Grassy, and Earthy. There are 980 entries in all, with 200 recipes and suggestions embedded in the text. It covers classic pairings such as pork & apple, lamb & apricot, and cucumber & dill; contemporary favourites like chocolate & chilli, lobster & vanilla, and goat's cheese & beetroot; and interesting but unlikely-sounding couples including black pudding & chocolate, lemon & beef, blueberry & mushroom, and watermelon & oyster. Beautifully packaged, The Flavour Thesaurus is not only a highly useful, and covetable, reference book that will immeasurably improve your cooking - it's the sort of book that might keep you up at night reading.

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