Yes, you can entertain without blowing your budget. Fiona Smith has sharing-style dishes, each served with a special bread, that will be welcomed by both your guests and your wallet.

Many of us are tightening our purse strings at the moment but, if you are anything like me, you don’t want to do that at the expense of entertaining friends and family at home. Hosting doesn’t have to be a formal, over-the-top affair; in my experience people are just as happy with casual, tasty meals to go with great company. Here I have created sharing-style meals for budget-friendly entertaining. Less cost sometimes does mean less convenience though, so you might need to take a bit more time in preparation or cooking, but I have designed these elements so they can be done well in advance. I have also included a simple bread with each dish, as nothing says, “I care,” like homemade bread; but warmed, bought bread is absolutely OK too.