In South Africa, we like to take other culture's dishes transform them and claim them to be traditionally South African. One such a dish is Jaffles, or the toasted sandwich made with the jaffle pan. In most recipes with the jaffle pan, you would find toasted cheese breads or something in that line. However, in South Africa we took the Jaffle pan and made a unique sandwich that most people will be familiar with. I have fond memories as a child in school having school lunch jaffles of the previous night's food. But let me explain this sandwich. In one sense, it again goes back to poverty or using every piece of food in interesting ways. In South Africa, food wastage is frowned upon. So what happened in most peoples' houses is that the previous night's mince was put in a sandwich for the child and husband's work and school. And so the South African Jaffle came to be. Let me show you in steps how to make this unique South African toasted sandwich.

Step One: Prepare the mince

So obviously this dish would utilize leftover mince rather than a freshly made batch. But my dad craved Jaffles one night so we made some. Start by preparing mince in any way you'd like. Curry mince is the prefered style, but any flavour profile would work. Add some small diced potato cubes and peas if you'd like to make it truly South African or to mimic the profile which I showcase here and which most people will be familiar with in SA.

Step Two: Butter the bread

We used a normal store-bought bread (brown) because it has a certain flavour profile we like. Artisinal sourdough might not work that well.

Step Three: Make the Jaffles

So for this recipe, you'd obviously need an old school Jaffle maker. Maybe they still sell them, but you'd want a heavy-duty one because of the heat it takes. Place the buttered bread buttered side down on the pan, put in the filling and close it. Cut away the edges and start to toast it over an open flame or coals. You'd smell when the jaffle is done. Let it cool down because the insides get very hot. And then enjoy an awesome Jaffle!

Ther you have it. It is that simple. This is an awesome weekday dinner with some beer or something colds. It doesn't take that long, plus it is mostly made from leftovers so there is no actual cooking. Give this a try and I hope you like this South African dish!