This Easter, party like it's €19.99

Looking to celebrate Easter without breaking the bank? Marjorie Brennan serves up a banquet on a budget

Treat yourself to an Easter feast; with the right choices, it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Easter is a great time to gather friends and family together for a celebration — spring has sprung, the days are brighter, the evenings longer and summer is on the horizon. Symbolically, it represents an end to the lean times of winter, as we begin to replenish our stores.

And, of course, traditionally, with the completion of the Lenten fast, came the reward of indulgence. With rising food prices, many people will be conscious of the cost of serving up an Easter feast, but with the right choices, it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Here we show how you can have a tasty and nutritious Easter feast on a budget (Easter eggs not included, obviously). The central elements featured here are affordable while you can raid your store cupboard for other ingredients.

To start, go for something fresh and reminiscent of spring, for example, pea soup — use frozen peas, a healthy and cheap ingredient and add some mint to give it a refreshing kick. For fish lovers, a great option is smoked mackerel pate with crackers — again, cheap and nutritious. 

Smoked mackerel pate with crackers — it’s cheap and nutritious and can be made with ingredients available in most supermarkets.

Just whizz up some smoked mackerel fillets (less than €3) with a couple of tablespoons of creme fraiche in a blender or food processor, adding some lemon juice, dijon mustard and horseradish sauce. Feta cheese is another superhero ingredient which costs less than €2 — whipped feta is a deliciously light and smooth treat, paired with the crunch of carrot, celery and cucumber sticks.

Lamb is the go-to main course choice for Easter — while the traditional leg of lamb is on the pricey side, there are many other ways to get your fix. A cheaper option is a mutton shoulder, which can be just as tasty and flavoursome. You may need to order in advance from a butcher.

The key is to cook it low and slow — usually for at least 6 hours in the oven. Depending on the number of guests, centre-loin lamb chops are also more reasonably priced, from around €8 for four in most supermarkets. An offbeat alternative for some but one that ticks all the boxes in terms of price and nutrition is lambs liver — delicious served in the traditional way with onions and creamy mash, and you can feed a gang for around €5.

Other roast options include a corn-fed chicken which comes in at around €7, or a roast pork loin for around €9. A firm favourite with a particularly Irish flavour is a cooked ham, which provides excellent value for money — one medium-sized fillet costs around €8 in most supermarkets and will feed up to eight people. Of course, ham wouldn’t be the same without cabbage, cheap at around €1 and an often-overlooked superfood, full of antioxidants. For those who like to get their teeth into a juicy beef roast, corned beef is a good affordable option, with a good-quality cut around €9.

As an island nation, we should definitely be putting more fish on the menu. Salmon is always a reliable choice and a poached fillet can be bought in most supermarkets for around €10. Fish pie is also dish where a few ingredients can go a long way; fish mix is relatively inexpensive in most fishmongers and it’s easy to make ahead of time, just whip it out of the oven when guests arrive.

Add a splash of flavour to your Easter table with ham, quiche, deviled eggs and hot cross buns.

Another crowd-pleasing, thrifty and easy option which comes with the wow factor is a paella or jambalaya. It’s also adaptable, as you can use tasty and cheap chicken thighs, chorizo, prawns, even rabbit if you want to go authentically Spanish. While Calasparra rice is traditionally used and can be found in most supermarkets, any risotto-type rice will do the job.

For vegetarians, a spring vegetable tart or quiche is also something that can be made cheaply and in advance — once again a little goes a long way, make your own pastry and just add spinach, leeks, broccoli or asparagus. The same veg can also be used as an accompaniment for the main meal.

If you fancy a more casual get-together, you could also adapt a lot of these dishes to be part of an Easter buffet or, weather permitting, a barbecue. Serve up lamb kebabs or skewers to keep with the Easter theme, alongside a Greek-style salad of tomatoes, chickpeas and feta.

Finally, if you have room after all the chocolate, you’ll need to think about dessert. This is where you can get real bang for your buck, especially if you enjoy baking and using ingredients you already have in the fridge or store cupboard.

Go traditional with an apple tart or a jam and cream sponge. Get the kids involved and make a selection of Easter-themed cupcakes, topped with miniature eggs or make your own chocolate truffle eggs and serve in a repurposed painted egg box. After all of that entertaining, and eating, it may be time to retire to the sofa.