Hard to believe, but you can entertain in style – on a shoestring. The proof is right here.

All recipes serve 6.

1. Starter: Mini Caesars
2. Main: Crunchy Garlic & Herb Chicken Parcels
3. Side: Roasted Onion & Potato Slices
4. Side: Thyme & Lemon Courgettes & Fennel
5. Side: Slow-Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes
6. Side: Creamy Spinach with Cheese
7. Pudding: Creamy Chocolate Nut Syllabub with Peanut Brittle
   

Starter: Mini Caesars

So much more sophisticated than a bowl of soup!

Ready in 25 minutes • 924 kj • 17g fat • 5g sat fat

You’ll Need:

• 2 medium slices white bread, crusts removed,cut into cubes
• 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon, grilled until crisp
• 50g white cheese, grated/shavings
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• ¹/₄ tsp dried herbs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 baby gem lettuces, washed and patted dry
• French dressing or Caesar-style dressing, to serve

Steps:

1. Heat oven to 200°C. In a large bowl, toss the bread with the cayenne pepper and herbs. Season well, then gradually add the oil. Spread out onto a large baking tray and bake for 5-10 mins, turning occasionally until golden and crisp. Leave to cool.
2. Separate the lettuce into single leaves. Set aside the inner leaves – 3 per person – and arrange 3 on each starter plate.
3. Shred the darker outer leaves and put a few inside each leaf ‘cup’. Break the bacon into shards and scatter inside each cup, with a few croutons and cheese shavings. Drizzle with the dressing just before serving.

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Main: Crunchy Garlic & Herb Chicken Parcels

Crisp on the outside, succulent and juicy in the centre – mmm!

Ready in 45 mins + chilling • 2835 kj • 41g fat •15g sat fat

You’ll Need:

• 125g butter, softened
• cloves garlic, crushed
• 6 plump, skinless chicken breasts
• 200g breadcrumbs, from sliced loaf
• 200ml vegetable oil, for shallow frying
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 4tbsp flour
• ¹/₂ tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 2 eggs, beaten

Steps:

1. Heat oven to 200°C
2. Mix together the butter with the garlic and parsley, season with salt, wrap in cling film and roll up tightly to make a long thin sausage. Chill in the fridge.
3. With a sharp knife, make an incision in the plump side of each chicken breast, to make a pocket. Slice the butter into 6 pieces and stuff into the pockets. Toss the chicken in the flour.
4. Mix the breadcrumbs and paprika with the thyme and season well. Dip each chicken breast into the egg first, then roll in the breadcrumbs until well-coated. Secure each with a cocktail stick to keep the butter in as much as possible.
5. Heat the oil until hot – it’s ready when a piece of bread turns golden after 30 secs. Fry the chicken in 2 batches for 1 -2 mins on each side until golden, then transfer to a shallow roasting tin. Bake for 15-20 mins until cooked through. Remove cocktail sticks and drizzle with any escaped butter to serve.

Tip: To prep in advance, follow up to step 4 the day before.  Remove from the fridge for 30 min, then complete the recipe from step 5.

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Side: Roasted Onion & Potato Slices

Here’s a classic example of the simplest dishes being the best!

Ready in 45 mins • 840kj • 6g fat • ³/₄g sat fat

You’ll Need:

• 1kg baking potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1cm thick rounds
• 3 tbsp oil
• ¹/₂tsp paprika
• 2 red onions, sliced in rounds

Steps:

1. Heat oven to 200°C. Pat the potatoes dry and mix with 2tbsp oil and the paprika, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to a large non-stick roasting tin and spread out in a single layer
2. Bake for 20 mins, turning occasionally to prevent them from sticking. Mix the onions with the remaining oil and scatter onto the potatoes. Cook for a further 15-20mins,until golden and crispy.

Tip: Waste not, want not. Use any leftovers as a filling for a Spanish omelette to make a quick and tasty lunch dish.

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Side: Thyme & Lemon Courgettes & Fennel

Full of fresh, zesty spring flavours, it’s the perfect veggie side.

Ready in 15mins • 256kj • 6g fat • ³/₄g sat fat

You’ll Need:

• 3 courgettes, sliced diagonally
• Juice and zest of ¹/₂ a lemon
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 large bulb of fennel, thinly sliced

Steps:

1. Heat half the oil and the thyme in a large frying pan, add the fennel and cook for 2-3 mins. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Heat the remaining oil and fry the courgettes on a high heat for 2-3 mins until almost tender. Return the fennel to the pan and add the lemon zest and juice Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and serve.

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Side: Slow-Roasted Balsamic Tomatoes

These juicy tomatoes have so much flavour – and are so easy to make.

Ready in 2hrs • 147kj • 2g fat • 13g sat fat

You’ll Need:

• 450g tomatoes, halved
• 2tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1tbsp olive oil

Steps:

1. Heat the oven to 150ºC. Arrange the tomatoes in a roasting tin and drizzle with the balsamic and olive oil.
2. Sprinkle with the thyme leaves and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 1 -2 hours until lightly caramelised

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Side: Creamy Spinach with Cheese

Spinach is so healthy, a splash of cream won’t do you any harm!

Ready in 10 mins • 689kj • 15g fat • 9g sat fat

You’ll Need:

• 40g butter
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 50ml cream
• 75g full-flavour white cheese
• grated 500g spinach, washed thoroughly
• nutmeg, to taste

Steps:

1. Cook the spinach in a large pan for 2-3 mins until wilted. Tip into a colander and squeeze well to remove excess water.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and cook for 2-3 mins until softened, but not coloured.  Add the spinach to the pan and grate some nutmeg over.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Stir in the cream and cheese, and cook for 1 min until melted.

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Dessert: Creamy Chocolate Nut Syllabub with Peanut Brittle

Grown-up and sophisticated with a naughty kick!

Ready in 20 mins + chilling • 3213kj • 59g fat • 31g sat fat

You’ll Need:

• 125g castor sugar
• 75g peanuts
• 100g crunchy peanut butter
• 400ml cream
• 200g dark chocolate, save 2 squares for curls
• 6 tbsp dessert wine (optional)

Steps:

1. For the brittle, heat the sugar with 2tbsp water until dissolved. Add the peanuts and simmer until golden. Pour onto a lightly oiled, lined baking tray and leave to cool until hard.
2. For the syllabub, gently melt the chocolate and peanut butter together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir briefly to combine and allow to cool.
3. Whisk the cream in a large bowl until thick, then whisk in the wine until soft peaks form. Fold in the chocolate and peanut mixture until marbled, then divide between 6 serving glasses. Crack the peanut brittle into shards and serve with the syllabub.

Tip: For an alternative pudding, dollop this chocolate mixture onto shortbread rounds.

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What to drink?

• Fresh and crisp, Twee Jonge Gezellen TJ Light 2009, R28, is the perfect choice for a long, leisurely lunch as it’s both low in alcohol and kilojoules – and sipping a chilled glass in the spring sunshine is simply fabulous!
• Also great value for what you’re getting is the Graham Beck Gamekeeper’s Reserve Chenin Blanc 2008, R49 – rich and juicy, it’s a real treat, no matter what you’re serving

Text by Lucy Jessop.  Recipes by Phil Mundy.  Tested by Kate Pring.  Photos by Pete Cassidy.  Taken from the October 2009 edition of Essentials.

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