A review of new vegan cookbook Cooking for the Senses by Jennifer Peace Rhind and Gregor Law. Also includes a delicious tandoori-style vegan cauliflower recipe.
Cooking for the Senses* is a new vegan cookbook that has just been published in the UK. It’s not your average cookbook though – the book’s subtitle is vegan neurogastronomy. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about how the science behind your senses can help you enjoy flavour more and know how to make better tasting meals then this book is for you.
If (like me) you’ve never heard of neurogastronomy or given it much thought then let me tell you a few things about this book. First of all the introductory section to neurogastronomy – or understanding taste and flavour – is both fascinating and short. This is no weighty scientific tome – the subject is dealt with concisely and I really enjoyed reading it.
Secondly the book has an 85 page section dedicated to tastes and flavours, which I didn’t know I needed but have found to be so useful. Wondering what fenugreek leaves will go with? Got some chard in your vegetable bag? Want to know how to cook with different types of nuts? Wondered how to store an avocado? This section is invaluable for anyone interested in cooking vegan food and learning more about what goes with what. I would recommend this book for this section alone.
However, that brings me on to my third point, which is that this book also has over 100 vegan recipes as well from snacky style small plate dishes like kale potato cakes and beetroot and coconut dip to brunch dishes like cavolo nero bubble and squeak and breakfast avocado. There are also recipes for dinners, sauces, spice mixes and desserts. Singing Dragon, the publishers, have given me permission to share one of the recipes from the book with you – I’ve chosen the vegan cauliflower recipe below.
Is there anything about the book that I didn’t like? Well some of the recipes include slightly obscure ingredients – where am I going to get Keralan peppercorns for instance? Or Turkish red pepper flakes? However, most of these ingredients could easily be replaced with something similar if you can’t find them and I only noticed this on a couple of recipes.

Tandoori cauliflower
A delicious tandoori-style vegan cauliflower recipe
Ingredients
Tandoori cauliflower
- 1 large cauliflower broken into equal sized pieces
- 1 tsp kofta spice mix use recipe in the book, make your own or buy a pre-made mix from an Asian supermarket
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- Tomato and onion curry
Tomato and onion curry
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 12 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 large onion half roughly chopped, half sliced
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 red chilli chopped (optional)
- 2 medium fresh tomatoes quartered
To finish
- small handful coriander leaves chopped
- 100 g coconut milk yoghurt thinned with a squeeze of lemon juice
Instructions
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Boil the cauliflower in a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and leave to cool.
-
Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6 and place a baking tray in the oven.
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Mix the remaining cauliflower ingredients in a large bowl and combine together. Once the florets are cool enough to handle, add them to your spice mix and gently turn them around, coating them well Be careful not to break up the forest. Spread evenly on a preheated baking tray and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until lightly charred and only just tender in the middle.
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Meanwhile, in a good-sized saucepan, heat the oil in a medium heat and add the mustard seeds Once the seeds start popping, add the onions and garlic and cook for five minutes. Roughly chop the tinned tomatoes and add all the contents of the tin to the onions, stirring as you do.
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Cook for five minutes, adding a little water if you feel it’s drying out - you want to maintain a liquid sauce throughout the dish. Add the salt, garam masala and red chilli (if using). Cook everything through for a further five minutes before adding the quartered fresh tomatoes. Continue to cook for five minutes again before reducing the heat to low. Add the cauliflower as soon as it’s ready and stir through gently. Add a final dash of water again if the sauce needs loosening up a little.
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Serve in warm deep white bowls with a scattering of fresh coriander, a drizzle fo thinned coconut yogurt zigzagged across the top and an Indian bread of your choice.
Singing Dragon have given me a copy of Cooking for the Senses to give away to one of my readers.
If you’d like to enter you can do so via the Rafflecopter widget below. If you haven’t used Rafflecopter before check out this useful guide by Super Lucky Me.
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Pin Tandoori-style cauliflower for later
Disclaimer: I received a copy of Cooking for the Senses for the purposes of this review. No other payment was received and all opinions are honest and my own.
*This post contains affiliate links meaning that if you buy something after clicking on one of them I’ll receive a small commission. The price to you remains the same.
Vegan mac & Cheese! 🙂
Macaroni cheese!
Macaroni cheese!
Chickpea Curry
Curried potato
I love cooking a vegan sausage stew
BBQ Pulled jackfruit
Parsnip gnocchi.
I’m currently loving vegan Yorkshire puds made with aquafaba!
Oh wow I never would have thought of that. Any chance you could share the recipe please?
Got to try that!
vegetable stew
Daal!
cant beat macaroni and cheese
Vegan root veg dauphinoise!
Vegan sausage & bean hotpot
Vegan lemon cake
Lentil & aubergine bake – yum 🙂
vegetable thai curry
Baked squash
I love vegetable soup
Vegetable Curry
Moroccan beans
Curry made with chickpeas
Vegetable curry!
vegan stew
vegan sweet potato curry
Spicy aubergine, and I love chickpeas, especially hummus.
Spicy Black eyed beans served with brown rice and salad.
A nice spicy vegan curry. Thanks for this lovely giveaway.
Chickpea stew!
vegetable stew
Spinach and mushroom curry!
Chickpea Curry
vegan curry potatoes
Trinidadian Doubles are my absolute favourite vegan meal to cook and eat.Doubles are a delicious Carribean chickpea curry served with a tamarind sauce, a hot sauce and a green herb sauce. It’s then served inbetween two small fried flatbreads. If you enjoy cooking, I highly recommend Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe from her ‘World Vegeterian’ cookbook. If you love hot food and taking the time to make your own sacuses and flatbreads, then this recipe will not disappoint. I love it when food is accedentially vegan!
That sounds lovely! I have that cookbook and will look out for the recipe, love trying new things.
I love a risotto with vegan mozzarella mixed in for creamyness
Great review, Mandy – I’m especially keen to read the more technical part of the book.
Love your balti, BTW – did you buy it locally or online? Now I’m back in Britain, I’m gradually rebuilding my Asian kitchenware supplies… and crying over how expensive everything here is, compared to India and Thailand!
Thanks Nico. I was given it as a present, I believe it came from Tooting. Give me a shout if you want to meet up there some time, it’s a great place to shop but yes, the prices are a lot higher!
My favourite vegan dish to cook is a lasagne
Cauliflower curry
I love to make a vegan chilli using lentils.
A mixed bean chilli.
My favourite Bulgur & Lentil Salad which i can eat either hot or cold.
Sweet potato and lentil curry
Spinach Lasagne
Vegetable curry
Total newbie, son has been diagnosed as intolerant to nearly everything, looking for all the ideas for nutritious, delicious meals
Hi Sue, I know some great free from bloggers I can put you in touch with – do let me know if that’s of interest.
vegan spag bol. Love it.
lasagna
lasagne
Vegetable curry. It is one vegan dish that everyone in my family enjoys, even the meat eaters.
Vegetable lasagne is always a good choice
I love mash – love having veggie sausages or a chilli bean. Yum!
It is fiddly but vegan baklava is amazing
I love to cook a good vegetable curry 🙂 so easy to make vegan too
Veggie quesadillas
veggie quesadilla
Lentil dahl
I love doing stuffed peppers
Chickpea curry
I have to say vegan mac and cheese 🙂 yummy!
Tarka Dhal and rice
Spicy courgette spaghetti
Vegetable Thai curry
Love vegan Mac and cheese
Veggie curry
Those photos look amazing!! Think that has sold it to me that I need to buy the book lol, and especially about the best way to store an avocado!
I love to make tofu sweet and sour with extra pineapple! 🙂
macaroni and cheese
butternut squash and chickpea curry
Veggie shepherds pie
Chick Pea Curry
Cauliflower and chickpea curry
sweet potato and chickpea curry!
I love making my family a puff pastry nut roast pie.
I love a vegetarian curry x
vegetable curry
Spicy Curried Lentils
veggie curry
Spinach pasta with pesto and artichokes!
mushroom and rocket risotto
Chickpea burgers
Chunky vegetable soup!
Ratatuille
I like to make a stri fry with tofu, verious vegetables, five spice powder and soy sauce.
I love aubergine…breakfast, lunch and dinner
stir fry with rice noodles, loads of peppers and courgettes and liquid aminos
Lemon cake