Twisted. - Twisted : a cookbook - unserious food tastes seriously good.

A COOKBOOK

BOLD, UNSERIOUS, DELICIOUS FOOD FOR EVERY OCCASION

www.hodder.co.uk

To hell with fashion, trends and gastronomic one-upmanship! Cooking, as well as eating, should be fun.

Ever scrambled the eggs in your carbonara in a hungover stupor and tried washing the spaghetti under the tap? Ever grilled a lasagne for an hour instead of roasting it? Ever put beef in the trifle? Weve all been there havent we? Well, were here to take the pressure off, to reassure, and hopefully put a smile on your face.

The world can be a serious place and the food world especially so brimming with ego, puffed-out bravado, moth-eaten rules and, as Keith says, gastronomic one-upmanship. At Twisted, were not too fussed with all that. For us, the good life does not result from this seasons fad diet counting calories with an abacus or slaving over the latest (probably quite expensive) wellness ethos. We are passionate about reminding people that its all right to indulge from time to time and, most importantly, to have fun . Cooking and eating the food that you love makes you happy, and its so important to do what you love in life.

We are living in an era of hyper self-consciousness; a time when the things we say, the way we look, in fact everything we do, are scrutinised by the entire world. Now and then, if only occasionally, we need to be reminded that its okay to have a good time. Remember that old maxim everything in moderation? It still stands. If you are going to have a day off, or treat yourself, you may as well do it properly.

Sometimes, if were a bit knackered after work, we want to rattle through dinner as quickly as humanly possible. Other times? We want to really labour over it, throw the kitchen sink at it, perhaps alongside a good bottle of wine and some nibbles. Either way, cooking is a ritualistic, rollercoaster lovehate relationship that we would literally die without. So wouldnt it be great if you could throw out the rulebook, do whatever you wanted, and fall in love with it all over again?

Putting a twist on something is nothing new. Just look to the origins of some of our national dishes conceptually, fusion food has been around for centuries. Banh Mi, the iconic and world-famous Vietnamese sandwich, depends on a crusty French baguette and a swipe of pt as a foil for its grilled meat, herbs and pickles. The vindaloo a dish adopted and beloved by a handful of nations along the spice trade route derives from an old Portuguese dish: carne de vinha dalhos . Who do these dishes really belong to? Fish and chips the Brits claim it, but it is rumoured to be a Jewish creation. French fries? First spotted in Belgium. Cheesecake is purportedly Greek, and they say pasta dough was developed in China. Go figure!

Retracing the steps of our collective food lineage is a lesson in how, over time, our culinary stories have slowly become intertwined. In todays hyperconnected world, though, our ability to learn from one another, and to borrow food knowledge, is far greater; this process is much quicker, easier and more justified than ever. That is a really exciting prospect for cooks.

The more we share, the more the spotlight centres on the preservation of distinct, separate food cultures. Its important, for sure, but to obsess over it means that food remains landlocked or fixed in time that it cant evolve, change or, as a result, improve. Amid all the fake news, we all crave unearthing traditional, real food that encapsulates history and meaning; food that transports us to a specific time and place. We love a dusty, first-edition Mughal cookbook as much as the next culinary crusader, but the truth is that the world today is also hungry for something new. Culture isnt static, so food its cornerstone shouldnt be either. Inauthenticity in food is often dismissed out-of-hand, but in it there is much to be celebrated: it represents innovation, experimentation and, ultimately, progression.

Nowhere is this conversation more energetic than on social media. Todays digital foodscape has broadened our horizons, exposing us to new cuisines, cultures and, most importantly, the people behind them, as they broadcast their views to the world. The overwhelming diversity of these opinions reminds us of the subjectivity of food. There really is no right or wrong way to cook, provided its right for you. In this, there is a stark reminder of quite how different we all are, but that concurrently, through food, we are all one and the same.

In our cookbook, we are four people writing recipes and stories, three illustrators, three photographers, three stylists, twelve staff and over 30 million people all over the world. It is both a distillation and a reflection of these converging and contrasting points of view. So, if it ever feels a bit wild, thats the point. This is precisely what todays debate looks like.

Twisted is about much more than putting a splash of fish sauce in your bolognese (although you crack on!) or some balsamic vinegar on your strawberries (posh!). For us, it really is just an attitude to cooking (and living) that makes it considerably more enjoyable. Its about questioning everything. Why do I have to put that in now? Why cant I cook this on top of loads of onions? Whats wrong with making a massive one? Sometimes it can feel like youre shackled by the way something looks in the photo, or the way someone says you have to do it, but as weve established, you make your own rules!

Whether its making your pasta salad look like a massive flying bruschetta (), there are ways in which you can reinvigorate your cooking that are not as reductive as merely swapping one ingredient out for another. It could well be an unconventional way of cooking something, or serving it so that it looks like something else. In short, we fiercely encourage you to play with your food.

Some of the recipes are more ambitious than others, requiring a little more attention, a little more time, or a few new ingredients; and some are dead simple, that you can whip up in a flash (or when youre really hungover). The approach, though, is the same: we are always trying something a little different. We think its important to broaden your horizons with new ingredients, so get yourself down to a good Asian supermarket, if you can, and buy that Chinkiang vinegar. You wont regret it. Everyone cooks differently, so we havent given you the difficulty level of any recipes. Anyone can make the recipes in this book. So give it a read and give them a try!

Its important to clarify that, although we offer precise measurements and instructions, we strongly encourage you to alter any recipes in order to suit your tastes; changing ingredients or quantities to satisfy your whims. The irony isnt lost on us we dont really follow recipes, so why should you? We have tested ours to the hilt, so if you follow them to the letter, we can assure you that you wont be disappointed (but we wont be offended if you dont quite the opposite!). Twisted is not about being exclusive, preachy or prescriptive. We want to inspire you to be creative and to do it your way, not tell you what to do. That wouldnt be any fun.