Niki Segnit

Flavours that are covered in the second volume of The Flavour Thesaurus but not the first. Rye, barley, black beans, broad beans, green beans, white beans, kidney beans, buckwheat, lentils, oats, corn, honey, pomegranate, cranberry, gooseberry, lychee, elderflower, elderberry, plum, prune, raisin, tamarind, sweet potato, quince, yogurt, sorrel, yuzu, passionfruit, papaya, turnip, radish, kale, mustard, Jerusalem, artichoke, dried pea, chickpea, leek, chive, fennel, chicory, lettuce, tofu, sesame, poppy seeds, cashew, pistachio, caraway, oregano, nigella seed, allspice, bay leaf, peppercorns, pine nuts, pecans, maple syrup, fenugreek, okra, spinach, green tea, seaweed, sapmhire, miso, wholegrain rice, oh and courgette. It’s a book for any cook who wants to understand more about those flavours and their compatibility. Available in English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, French, German, Portuguese and American English.

Lateral carrot cake has equal quantities of each primary ingredient, like a pound cake or quatre quart. You can easily have this one by heart. Like pound cake, you can make a lot of tweaks to the spices / additions. But this version is very good and I get a lot of love for it. It’s one of ten variations of pound cake in my book Lateral Cooking which has just been reissued in a smaller (cheaper) format. Others include Buckwheat & Almond, Polenta & Pineapple and Elderflower. Because this is an oil cake, there is no creaming. It takes about 7 mins to get this in the oven. Put oven on at 160c. In a large bowl, mix 200g plain flour, 200g brown sugar, 2tsp each baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground mixed spice, 1/4 tsp bicarb, few pinches of salt. In a jug, whisk 200g (or a cup) of sunflower oil, 200g (or 3 large) eggs and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients and 200g grated carrot to dry ingredients and stir just enough to combine. Put in a prepped 20cm square tin. (Or at 23cm round. Or if you don’t like prepping tins, use silicone.) Bake for 35-40 mins. Once cool, mix 250g cream cheese with 75g sifted icing sugar and spread over the top.

“A whole new city that is rising out of the ground.” That is how Nadeem, partner of @cookinboots described the site of the Olympic park where we went on Friday evening to celebrate the opening of Café Jikoni at the @vam_east . Spot on. I felt like I was on a city break, it was all so unfamiliar and explorable. And another place to eat the Jikoni team’s extraordinary food is enough of a reason to get yourself there. Their creativity never fails to leave me giddy. Definitely put this on your to-do list, whether you’re visiting London or, like me, a Londoner who needs to get out more. Thank you for having us along @jikonilondon

Great to get the re-issue of Lateral Cooking arrive today. We will also be welcoming @nikisegnit in the autumn so keep an eye out folks! #shoplocal #indiebooksellers #flavour #cookbook

New edition. Smaller, lighter, easier to take to bed. Launches tomorrow - 23rd April. UK / Metric.

My daughter and I went to @vam_east to visit the Bowie archive and mooch around the storehouse which is like a library of extraordinary things that have overthrown the Dewey System. I found my Christmas party outfit.

Setting the mood. 25/12. London. I’m now off to fashion the set out of mashed potato. #radiohead #radioheadlive2025 #radioheadlive

Last night in London. Radiohead played for two and a half hours. Kicked off with a bone-shaking Planet Telex with Led Zeppy pedals. There’s a film of it on the NME website that shows off the brilliant set / lights. Here you see the stage warming up. #radiohead #radiohead2025

“It is a stunningly loveless conception of what it means to eat: squatting in your technical yogawear necking a glass of berry-flavoured pea protein “. My latest piece for @scribehound_food is on (supposed) high protein foods and how they are sold to us. #protein #highprotein

Girona. Where I did not have dinner with @bill.buford . My latest piece is up on @scribehound_food today. It’s about finding somewhere to eat when you’re away. Do you research assiduously or leave things to chance? Link in my bio. This is part of the platform’s holiday season. So far we have been to food markets with @r_mccormack , eaten croissants in a vineyard with a teenage @mark_diacono and learned to bake bread in a poorly equipped rental with @bakingjames . @edentravels makes a compelling case for staying in a hosted home rather than a hotel and @felicitycloake made me laugh about wanting a bit of a rest from having to think hard about food. There’s a lot to read….or lay back on your sun-lounger and let us read it to you. #girona #spanishfood #ibericoham #tortilla

@nikisegnit deep dives into the chemistry of one of the most controversial vegetables on our plates (or not): the green pepper. Packed with isobutyl methoxypyrazine — the compound behind its famously grassy, bitter, sulphurous flavour — it’s a vegetable that goats, cows, and even some winegrowers avoid. And yet for some, that sharp vegetal complexity is utterly irresistible. Are you with the goats — or are you a green pepper devourer? 🐐🫑 Read or listen via the link in bio and get Niki's recipe for a gimlet-inspired cocktail that captures green pepper in all its mouthwatering, aromatic glory 🍸📖 #ScribehoundFood #FoodForThought #FlavourScience #GreenPeppers #IBMP #TasteMatters #BeyondThePlate #FoodChemistry #CapsicumCocktail #CookMoreCuriously #SipMoreCuriously

My latest piece for @scribehound_food is about the polarising green pepper. There are some good reasons why you might dislike them, one of which can be found in a glass of Sancerre. Link to the column is in my bio. Are you a green pepper hater?