Unique to Welcome To My Table are QR codes which can take you straight to quick videos where you can watch Siba create the recipes. Siba Mtongana is a local cooking celebrity and her food reflects her heritage as well as her love for family.
Welcome To My Table
For busy professionals, married or single parents, or young people who want to glam up their meals, but don’t have the time to spend hours in the kitchen, this is the book for them. Although Welcome to My Table by Siba Mtongana was previously self-published in 2015, it had a relatively limited distribution presence. Now updated and published by Penguin Random House, it is sure to find a wider, appreciative readership, looking for new inspiration in the kitchen as they settle in to a new mindset of making great food themselves, rather than relying only on eating out for that pleasure.Siba Mtongana is the Queen of Convenience. She shows you how to make dinner in no time; and provides the kind of tips that’ll make something you whipped up in under an hour look like you’ve been slaving over the stove all day.Siba’s recipes reflect her local roots, international food trends and some of the exotic flavours and ideas she’s picked up on her travels around the world. You’ll find ways to jazz up salads and veggies; discover deeply satisfying roasts and mouth-watering fish dishes. Her ‘Local is Lekker’ section provides a personal take on an array of traditional South African favourites. Sibalicious!
Chapters are divided into:
- breakfast + brunch + lunch + canapés
- salads + sides
- meat + poultry
- seafood
- dips + rubs + marinades + pastes + dressings
- drinks + cocktails
- something sweet
- local is lekker

Recipes that caught my eye:
- Cape Town tarts (p17)
- warm market salad (p22)
- stuffed mushrooms with quail eggs (p27)
- juicy meatball pitas (p30)
- cream cheese + spinach ravioli (p36)
- puttanesca salad (p61)
- herby potato salad (p74)
- marinated cucumbers with black sesame seeds (p88)
- Asian glazed gammon (p101)
- creamy mussels with courgette ‘pasta’ (p132)
- roast butternut hummus (p153)
- spicy corn rub (p168)
- Siba’s sundowner (p182)
- pistachio + cranberry cookies (p202)
- lamb neck potjie (p247)

My impressions:
I loved the fresh and unique look to this recipe book. There were handwritten notes to make you feel as if the recipes were created just for you. And the photographs were great. Really fantastic to see something new in the way of presentation and layout.
What I made:
I made the ravioli on page 36 as I was intrigued to see how cake flour worked in place of 00 flour. I found it much more difficult to work with as the resulting pasta was very soft. But the flavour of the filling was amazing. Wanting something sweet for the weekend I chose to make the pistachio and cranberry cookies These were extremely good.
Publishing information:
Disclosure: I was sent the book to review by Penguin Random House South Africa. I was not required to write a positive review. This post is in line with my blogging policy.
Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime May 12:
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- 2019: One Minute Later
- 2017: Blueberry And White Chocolate Crunchies
- 2016: Panzanella
- 2014: Olive And Sun Dried Tomato Sourdough Bread
- 2013: Whiskey Beach
- 2012: Food Quiz Number 20 For A Friday
- 2011: Boudin Blanc Ravioli With A Sage Beurre Noisette
- 2010: The Perfect Steak
those cookies look really good, but I’m sure they would require more work than I am willing to do 🙂
Maybe someone else in your household will make them for you?
There seems to be a disconnect between the publisher’s words about “Queen of Convenience” and full-scale recipes with tricky rolled out ravioli skins! You must be brave to do an unknown recipe like that. I’m sure I’ll skip this book.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
You are right, that is quite a disconnect. But as I make pasta so often I never thought of it that way 🙂