EVERYBODY, EVERYDAY

Alex Mackay believes that cooking is an adventure and that good food should be for everyone. You don't have to spend a fortune on hard-to-come-by ingredients or have an encyclopaedic knowledge of cooking methods to eat well and healthily. Alex knows that most of us shop in the supermarket and work from nine to five. The trick is to know a few basic recipes inside-out and to reinvent them so they never grow tired.

Everybody, Everyday is divided into three parts: basic main ingredients, essentials for the fridge and slow-cooked dishes. Every part is a selection of 'hero' recipes, each followed by six delicious variations. So, once you know how to bake salmon fillets, it's a short step to baked salmon with fennel, olives, warm balsamic and tomato dressing or five other options.

Homemade basil pesto can become mozzarella and pesto meatballs with roast garlic, tomato and peppers; beef rump with pesto, grainy mustard, beetroot and pak-choi; no sweat pesto risotto with sautéed vegetables and sunblush tomatoes; spinach, crème fraiche, penne, parmesan and pesto bake; lamb shoulder chops with fried new potatoes, cherry tomatoes, olives and pesto; braised sea bass fillets with beans, peas and pesto. Imagine what can be done with roast duck, mackerel fillets, caramelised onions, garlic butter and the rest of the heroes...