Does a cookbook like this exist - Ideas rather than specific recipes?

[Astrophe]

I'm a confident cook, but I do struggle with ideas for the weekly menu. I don't need recipes - its too time consuming to follow them, I find.

What I want is a book that says eg - Beef casserole - with a very brief 'how to' (eg, don't forget to brown the meat - add herbs and season, toss meat in flour) and then a list of possibilities - eg, add carrot, onions, red wione, mustard etc...

But obviously I'd like more interesting ideas than beef casserole - cos I know that one!

I guess it would be a bit like a Jamie Oliver book, but even mre pared back, and with more assumed knowledge, so less space spent on 'how to' and more space devoted to ideas.

Does this exist?

A lot of Nigel Slater's cook books are like that. He discusses the meal and the type of food and gives broad ideas.

Try Kitchen Diaries or Tender Vol 1 and 2 or even Real Fast Food

Another vote for Nigel Slater. I think Appetite is written in exactly that type of style with a basic recipe followed by multiple variations.

Yes, our copy of Appetite is very well thumbed.

Nigel Slater is the only cook I can think of too... He's also great in the sense he doesn't overload you with pointless ingredients...

Another vote for Appetite, and Real Fast Food does the same for real basics like jacket potato fillings or things to stir into a bowl of rice.

You might also like the Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit. Not really recipes as such, more a directory of which flavours go with each other.

Thanks so much! I'll take a look at those

Nigella's How to Eat is a bit like that too.

Or the cookery book in my head that I will never write.

bigbadbear - theres an unwritten one in my head too. Only I really don't have the cooking flair, just the concept.

those who recommended nigel slater appetite - can you just reassure me its not super basic? Some reviews have said its a good beginners cook bokk - but I'm not at all a beginner - really down't want to spend money for instructions on how to scramble an egg etc...

check out the Flavour Thesaurus - it's jam packed with this kind of 'recipe' - I found ideas I'd not come across before.

I was going to give the Flavour Thesaurus a go, sounded fascinating - might put it on my Christmas list .

Nigel Slater's recipes tend to be simple with no complicated techniques, which is why I think they are recommended for beginners. Most of his food is every day food, rather than posh dinner party fare.

I think that if you are looking for basic recipes with numerous variations this is probably up your street. So for example one of the recipes I think is from the book is a basic puff pastry tart, something that anyone who cooks a bit can make. But then he goes on to suggest half a dozen variations and different fillings for your tart so you have a few different ideas around a basic recipe.