15 Modern Pantry Ingredients to Amplify Your Cooking

"Gurdeep makes things simple: he shows that with a well-stocked pantry and an open mind, ingredients can transport you anywhere you want to go. This book is full of flavour and practical ideas for every cook." – Yotam Ottolenghi

Flavour Heroes is a collection of clever, flavour-forward, sweet and savoury recipes that, thanks to a capsule of global pantry ingredients, will satisfy every craving.

With the help of his 15 favourite pantry heroes, Gurdeep Loyal demonstrates how any home cook – of any ability – can elevate their daily cooking with minimal effort for maximum reward.

Those essential ingredients are… harissa, pecorino Romano, gochujang, Thai green paste, yuzu koshō, tamarind, mango chutney, chipotle paste, toasted sesame oil, miso, ’nduja, Calabrian chilli paste, dark roasted peanut butter, instant espresso powder and dark maple syrup.

Each of the 90 recipes shines a spotlight on the unlimited ways these pantry ingredients can be used. From including the smoky-heat of chipotle chilli paste in a Nacho Cauliflower Cheese, to using a spoonful of miso to add savoury-umami depth to Sticky Lemongrass-Miso Lamb Ribs, or even adding instant espresso powder to intensify the chocolatiness of Treacle-Mocha Brownies, Flavour Heroes showcases just how easy it can be, to pack any dish you make with flavour.

In Flavour Heroes, Gurdeep revels in his new and liberating approach to playing with pantry ingredients; one where we can drop the supposed rules of how ingredients ought to be used, and instead lean into the full spectrum of flavours that every ingredient has the potential to produce.

If you are looking for delicious dishes, that you and your loved ones will really want to eat every day, then this is the book for you.

Gurdeep Loyal is an award-winning food and travel writer and culinary trends expert, working with gourmet institutions including Harrods Food Halls, Marks & Spencer Food and Innocent Drinks. Gurdeep was winner of the Jane Grigson Trust Award for his debut cookbook, Mother Tongue – Flavours of a Second Generation (4th Estate, 2023). He is a monthly columnist for Olive Magazine and a regular guest on the Olive Podcast, as well as appearing on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen on BBC Radio 4. He has been featured in the likes of Delicious magazine, Suitcase, The Times, Guardian, New York Times, Telegraph and Observer Food Monthly. Gurdeep also curates the online platform MotherTongueTV.com which celebrates food stories of migration, race and identity around the world.