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Mbejú

Mbejú (say 'mbeh-JOO') is a Guaraní breakfast and merienda: cassava starch rubbed with butter, cheese and a little milk into damp crumbs, then pressed into a hot pan where it fuses into a thick, chewy, crisp-edged cake. It's eaten in the countryside with cocido (sweet toasted yerba tea with milk) on cool mornings, cut into wedges. It's naturally gluten free and very quick. Chef's tip: the mix should look like damp sand, not a dough; if you can squeeze a handful and it just holds, it's right.

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Chipa

In Paraguay you hear 'chipa, chipa!' called by vendors with big baskets on buses and street corners, and every family bakes it for Holy Week, when chipa is the food of Good Friday. Cassava starch, a little cornmeal, butter, eggs and a lot of hard cheese are kneaded into a dough scented with aniseed, shaped into rings or small rolls and baked in a hot oven, traditionally a domed clay tatakua. It's chewy, crisp outside and best warm with cocido (toasted yerba tea). Chef's tip: the dough should feel soft and slightly greasy; add milk a spoon at a time, as too much makes the chipa spread flat.

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Chinese tawa potatoes

An Indo-Chinese favourite from the barbecue tawa: crisp fried potato chips tossed with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, ketchup and plenty of chillies and spring onion, then glazed with a little cornflour sauce. Sticky, salty and hot. Serve straight away as a starter.

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So'o yosopy

So'o yosopy, "pounded meat" in Guaraní, is a soup Paraguayans make for anyone who is tired or recovering, and on cold days in Asunción's winter: beef is ground very finely and stirred into cold water so it breaks into soft, delicate threads, then simmered with onion, tomato, pepper and a little rice and oregano. The texture is smooth and the broth light. The mistake is adding the beef to boiling water, which makes it clump into meatballs; mix it into cold water first and stir as it heats. Chef's tip: ask the butcher to mince lean beef twice, or pulse it very fine in a food processor.

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Chivito

The chivito was created in the 1940s at a restaurant in Punta del Este, Uruguay, and became the national sandwich: a soft roll filled with thin, tender steak, ham, melted mozzarella, a fried egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato, olives and mayonnaise. It is eaten in Montevideo's parrillas and corner bars with chips on the side. This sandwich contains pork. The mistake is a thick, chewy steak: use thinly sliced sirloin and sear it fast. Chef's tip: toast the cut sides of the rolls so they stand up to all the juices.

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Torta frita

In Uruguay, a grey rainy afternoon has one answer: torta frita and mate. These thin discs of dough, pierced with a hole in the middle, are fried until puffed and golden and either sprinkled with sugar or eaten plain, still hot, between sips passed around the circle. In Montevideo you'll smell them from street stalls on wet days; at home they're made with butter or beef fat, here with butter. Chef's tip: the hole in the middle isn't decoration; it lets the centre cook through at the same speed as the edges.

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Chilli beans with pasta

A hearty, family-friendly bake of shell pasta and baked beans in a spicy tomato, ginger and garlic sauce, topped with cheddar and capsicum rings. Serve hot with garlic bread.

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Pasta in coconut sauce

Pasta and crisp green vegetables in a light coconut milk sauce flavoured with coriander-chilli paste, lemon and fresh basil. Fresh, gently spicy and dairy free.

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Baked vegetables in coconut sauce

Mixed vegetables in a mild, creamy coconut gravy, spread over milk-soaked bread, topped with a buttery tomato sauce and cheese and baked until melting. Serve hot with naan or pitta bread.

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Coriander pesto

A quick, nutty pesto of fresh coriander, garlic and roasted peanuts, blended with peanut oil. It is dairy free and vegan, and great tossed through noodles or pasta, or drizzled over grilled vegetables.

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Mexican pepper bake

A creamy, cheesy bake of sweetcorn, baby potatoes and spaghetti in a sauce of blended capsicum and cashews mixed with white sauce, topped with cheese and capsicum rings. Serve hot with tomato ketchup and chilli sauce.

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Spaghetti bhajiya

Short pieces of spaghetti in a peppery batter, fried in small balls until golden and crunchy. Kids love them. Serve hot with the quick tomato-chilli sauce.

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Green lentil & pea soup

A bright green soup of peas and lentils, thickened with a buttery curry roux and finished with mint and cream. Thin spaghetti makes it filling, and crisp three-cheese toast on the side turns it into a proper meal.

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Stuffed pastry

Flaky puff pastry triangles filled with a crunchy, spiced mixture of fresh coconut, roasted peanuts, sesame and fennel seeds, then baked until golden. Serve hot with chilli sauce and tomato ketchup.

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Onion rings

Thick rings of white onion in a chilli-spiked batter of gram, rice and self-raising flour with breadcrumbs, fried until crisp and golden. The rice flour keeps them crunchy. Serve with red, green, and date and tamarind chutneys.

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Spring cashewnuts

Golden fried cashews tossed in a hot wok with spring onions and red and green chillies. Ready in five minutes and gone just as fast. Serve hot.

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Mini garlic rolls

Slices of long bread roll grilled on one side, then spread with a spiced garlic butter flavoured with cumin, black pepper and green and red chilli chutneys, and grilled again until golden. Quick to make and good with drinks.

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