Dinka's Cookbook
Featured: Family Favourites
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Toad in the Hole with Onion Gravy
Serve immediately with onion gravy or fresh tomato sauce with basil, and a green vegetable.
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Dalmatinska Pasticada
Serve with freshly boiled fettucini, into which some of the gravy has been stirred.
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Chicken and Pineapple Salad
Refrigerate for about an hour before serving (not absolutely necessary, but it does help to blend the flavours).
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Real Beef Stroganov
Serve as soon as possible – it doesn’t improve with keeping – with mashed potatoes (garlic, if possible) and a green vegetable or salad.
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Scones
Tips and Notes
Note about Salads
A quick word about seasoning in salads, especially main course salads and those which are going to be served cold.
Notes on Frittatas
There are a myriad fillings for frittatas. The recipe was originally developed by the thrifty Italians as a way of dealing with leftovers, and turning them into a fairly substantial meal. One of the more ‘famous’ fillings is leftover spaghetti bolognaise!
Exotic and Interesting
Chutney
Chutney is loan word incorporated into English from Hindi. It is derived from caṭnī , a term for a class of spicy preparations used as an accompaniment for a main dish. Chutneys usually contain an idiosyncratic but complementary spice and vegetable mix.
Cayenne Pepper
The cayenne pepper – also known as the Guinea pepper or bird pepper or, especially in its powdered form, red pepper – is a hot, red chilli pepper used to flavour dishes and for medicinal purposes. Named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, it is a cultivar of Capsi …
Showcase: South Africa
A Simple Breyani
The only authentic thing about this recipe is that the rice and meat is cooked together, but it is much simpler than a real breyani,
Sosaties
Sosaties may be made any size – from full king-size meal portions to the daintiest cocktail sosaties.
Cape Malay Chicken Curry
Serve with rice, garnished with dhania leaves, and sambals.
Starters
Melon and Cucumber Salad
Like the Melon and Mint Salad, this is good as an accompaniment or as a starter. Just serve it chilled in small coupé bowls, or stemmed glasses. Loosely knot some of the cucumber skin …
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Meat Dishes
Toad in the Hole with Onion Gravy
Serve immediately with onion gravy or fresh tomato sauce with basil, and a green vegetable.
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Desserts
Walnut Pecan Meringue Cake
This is pest of a dessert to cut and serve, but the flavour is phenomenal. Assemble an hour or two before serving so that the meringue softens a little – this does make it a littl …
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Main Course
Chicken Salad Indienne
This may all be prepared a day ahead to this stage. Just stir everything and taste again for seasoning before serving.
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Finger Foods
Gorgonzola and Caramellised Onion Tartlets
The larger muffin size makes a lovely starter. The onion marmalade makes a wonderfully unusual topping for plain grilled fillet steak or caramelize parboiled baby onions, to tos …
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Pasta and Sauce
Baked Rigatoni with Meatballs
Making the meatballs is fairly tedious, but they may be made ahead and frozen – thaw completely before using. Also delicious served as finger food.
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Soups
Creamy Celeriac Soup
A very delicious soup, but celeriac does seem to have the unattractive quality of creating lots of wind!
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Vegetarian
Savoury Mushroom Burger
Serve hot, as a burger in a bun with traditional trimmings, or with mashed potatoes or another creamy potato dish and vegetables or salad.
