Excerpts from the Settlers’ Guide Book: That’s entertainment!

SHORTAGES of deli stores and exotic ingredients didn’t stop Kenyan hostesses of yesteryear from pulling out all stops when it came to entertaining.

Paging through my much-thumbed copy of ‘the Kenya Settlers’ Cookery Book and Household Guide’ it was interesting to see quite a few pages making up the Hors d’Oeuvres and Savouries section, although Kenyan housewives in the early 20th century would have had to rely quite heavily on tinned goodies and other easily preserved delicacies to impress their guests at sundowner time.

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Here are a few retro recipes to try out on your guests next time you entertain.

Anchovy paste features quite a bit and the hostess could use this humble ingredient to create anchovy croutes, hot or cold anchovy eggs or anchovy savoury, a rather strange concoction that is made as follows:

You will need toast, anchovy paste, a tablespoon of butter, a tablespoon of flour, a cup of milk, two hard boiled eggs and pepper.

Toast the bread, remove the crusts, butter the toast and spread sparingly with the anchovy paste. Cook together the butter and flour, pour the milk in slowly, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Add chopped hard boiled eggs. When the mixture is thoroughly hot, add pepper to taste, pour over the anchovy toast and serve hot. Hmm – not too sure about that one.

Perhaps one of the many using tinned sardines, another cocktail time staple, might be a better bet. To make Canapes de Sardines you will need five tinned sardines, two eggs, French mustard, five small gherkins, five fried croutons, butter, chives, parsley and tarragon vinegar.

Fry five pieces of bread cut about the length and width of a sardine. Pound half the sardines with yolks of egg, a teaspoon of the French mustard, parsley and vinegar. Mix and blend with a bit of butter. Spread the mixture on the croutons and lay half a sardine on each crouton. Heat in oven and serve with a gherkin on each savoury.

Tinned asparagus features in some of the recipes and must have been considered quite a delicacy. To make an asparagus toastie, strain the juice from a small tin of asparagus tips and bring it to the boil. Place a dessert spoon of butter in a small bowl, stir in a heaped dessertspoon of flour, blend and add the hot asparagus juice, pepper and salt. Place asparagus tips on buttered bread, spread the juice mixture over the asparagus and dust with grated cheese. Place in a hot oven for seven minutes and serve hot, garnished with parsley. One way to make a small tin of asparagus tips go far, I suppose.

Even today, cheese is a good standby when it comes to entertaining and no doubt the Kenyan hostess of yesterday would often turn to this trusty, easily preserved ingredient when guests pitched up and snacks were needed. This recipe for cheese straws might even be useful in today’s more sophisticated era.

Ingredients are one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour, one and a half ounces of grated cheese, cayenne pepper and salt and egg yolk mixed with a little water.

Rub butter into the flour, add cheese and seasoning and bind to a stiff paste with egg and water. Roll out thinly, cut into straws and bake in a quick oven for five to seven minutes. Serve hot.

So there you go – check out your store cupboards and see what you can do with just a few savoury ingredients. It’s probably easier to head for your nearest deli counter and buy some chips and ready-made dips.

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