The title of this cookbook is somewhat misrepresentative. You won’t find express versions of classic recipes using convenience foods here – thankfully, there isn’t a lasagne recipe in sight. Instead, Tom Aikens has collected a startlingly original range of dishes that can be easily prepared for family and friends alike.

All of the dishes are cooked from scratch and do require a minimal amount of planning, but you will be rewarded with a tasty, healthy supper like chicken marinated in yoghurt and mint with lime rice, or spiced lamb mince with turmeric yoghurt. Sometimes it is easier and safer to cook a meal from your repertoire (most of us have a repertoire of half a dozen recipes) but I promise you that this book will inspire you to experiment without frazzling your nerves or wasting expensive ingredients.

If spatchcocked poussins with lemon, green olives and rosemary is too demanding (a cinch even if you substitute a chicken for the poussins), then roast a couple of chickens and leaf through the chapter on leftovers for excellent recipes like a honey-roasted chicken and spiced vegetable soup.