Ingredients:

120 grams (4 oz.) kangaroo fillet
30 ml. (1 fl oz.) mountain pepper sauce
1 cup English spinach
1/4 granny smith apple
1/2 fresh fig
6 springs of coriander
20 grams (1½ tablespoons) goats cheese
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, roasted and crushed
5 ml. macadamia nut oil

Procedure:

Ensure that the kangaroo fillet is free of any fat or sinew, then marinate in 15 ml. of Mountain Pepper Sauce. Make sure that the kangaroo is lightly covered. It’s best to marinate 24 hours ahead of time, but if you’re in a rush, 45 minutes should be fine. Cooking the kangaroo literally takes a few minutes, so prepare the salad first. Cut the figs and apples into slices and place in mixing bowl. Add the coriander, spinach and chunks of goats cheese. For the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the remaining Mountain Pepper Sauce and macadamia nut oil together and set aside. Now for the kangaroo. Season with a little salt, then on a hot frying pan, sear the fillets until medium rare – usually 3-4 minutes on each side. Allow to rest for a few minutes and then thinly slice the fillet across the grain, for maximum tenderness. Add the dressing to the salad, as well as the sliced kangaroo. Toss well and serve on a large plate or bowl. Garnish with toasted, crushed macadamia nuts.

Ingredients:

4 x 200 grams (7 oz.) barramundi fillet skin on
1 kg. (2 pounds) potatoes
120 ml. (½ cup) milk
80 grams (3 oz.) butter
3 grams(1/2 teaspoon) lemon myrtle
pinch salt
macadamia nut oil
45 grams (3 tablespoons) quandong confit
fresh herbs

Procedure:

Peel the potatoes and place them into small pot with salted cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 40 minutes. Strain and allow to sit for a few minutes to dryout. Then return to pot and mash the potatoes. Add butter, milk and lemon myrtle. Season if required with salt. Heat the grill or barbeque. Season the barramundi on the skin side and season with salt. Place the barramundi skin side down and cook till crispy, turn over and finish till medium. To serve, place the lemon myrtle mash potato on the plate, then place the grilled barramundi on the mash. Top with two quandong halves and drizzle some of the confit juices around the plate. Garnish with sprig of fresh herbs.

Paperbark is one of the most versatile natural food wraps available and imparts a delicate smokey flavour to chicken, pork, veal, poultry, kumara, oysters, fish, scallops … the list goes on. Paperbark works best with white meats and starchy vegetables which are slowly cooked in the paperbark so that the smoke created when the natural oils in the bark are combusted and absorbed into the fats in the food.

Ingredients:

1 × 180 grams snapper fillet
5 grams wildfire spice
1 paperbark roll
outback Salt
vegetable Oil

For Daintree pineapple and Riberry salsa:
350 grams pineapple, fine dice
50 grams shallot, finely chopped
50 grams garlic, finely chopped
50 grams riberry confit
10 grams lemon myrtle sprinkle
10 grams red chilli, julienne
50 ml. pineapple juice
20 ml. sesame oil
30 ml. olive oil
trace salt
50 ml. red wine vinegar

Procedure:

Firstly, combine all ingredients for the salsa well and allow marinating for approx 4 hours. The daintree pineapple and riberry salsa is best prepared the day before if possible, if not allow 4 hours at least. Ensure that the snapper fillet is free of bones and that the skin has been removed. Season with wildfire spice and a little outback salt. Unroll the paperbark and cut a small amount to wrap the snapper. On occasions, the paperbark is so think that you can actually separate the paperbark in half. Using the stringless side of the paperbark rub a little oil on the bark, then place the snapper fillet on the bark. Wrap like a present, then tie with string. Then, on a hot grill or frying pan, sear the paperbark tillit starts to smoke. Turn the package over, then again wait till the paperbark is smoking. After that place in a oven till medium. The times required can vary depending on how think the snapper is. You can test the doneness with a skewer or similar. When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest. Then cut the paperbark and serve on the plate with daintree pineapple and riberry salsa.

The Wattleseed Pavlova is Vic Cherikoff’s flagship dish and has to be a contender for an Australian national dish. Even if the Kiwis simultaneously concocted the same sort of meringue mixture, the idea of serving it with wattleseed and in Swiss roll fashion instead of as a cow pat must put us in front.

Ingredients:

7 egg whites
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon corn flour
1¼ cups castor sugar
300 ml. whipped cream
2 tablespoons Wattleseed extract
½ cup cereal or biscuit crumbs
strawberry jam
juice of 1 lemon
¼ teaspoon Fruit Spice

Add the Wattleseed extract to the cream and whip this to stiff peaks; this can and is best done the day before to allow the full flavour to develop; taste and add more extract if you want a stronger flavour. In another bowl whip the egg whites to soft peaks; add the sugar and lemon juice slowly until stiff peaks form. Line a baking tray with baking paper to cover an area the width of the baking paper and 1¼ times the length. Sread the pavlova mix over the baking paper in a rectangular shape to a depth of 2 cm. Bake at 150°C for 10 to 15 minutes or until firm and nearly touch dry but not browned; it should look like soft meringue at this stage. Remove from the oven and slide it off the tray to stop it cooking on; sprinkle the top with the crumbed breakfast cereal evenly coating the surface. Flip the meringue over, seasoned side down, onto a clean tea towel and remove the baking paper carefully; if it sticks, place a wet towel which has been heated in a microwave (or soaked with really hot water) on to the baking paper for 30 seconds; try peeling the paper away again and it should come away cleanly. Spread the Wattleseed cream evenly over the meringue to a thickness of around 1cm or 1/2 an inch. Roll up the pavlova using the long edge of the towel; cut the ends on an angle. Before removing the towel completely, lift the pavlova onto a platter and roll the pavlova off the towel. Serve with a sour fruit coulis, for example, a berry jam mixed with enough lemon juice to taste tart and to pour like a thick sauce. Add a pinch of Fruit Spice to this sauce as well to enhance the fruitiness.

In this very simple recipe, the spices, mint, garlic, and oil form a crust that helps seal in the lamb’s juices. Sautéed carrots and roasted potatoes would be nice on the side.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 (1- to 1 1/2-inch-thick) lamb loin chops (about 5 ounces each), trimmed
Fresh mint sprigs

Procedure:

Place olive oil, chopped fresh mint, minced garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in small bowl; mix well. Spread herb mixture over both sides of lamb chops. Transfer chops to broiler pan. Let stand 10 minutes. Preheat broiler. Broil chops until brown and crusty, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Arrange chops on platter, garnish with fresh mint sprigs, and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Crème caramel is one of my favorite desserts and using native ingredients there are many varieties which can be made like Rosella Crème caramel or Wattleseed Crème caramel.

Ingredients:

50 ml. lemon aspen syrup
200 grams of white sugar
100 ml. of water
30 ml. extra water for dipping pastry brush
1 litre of milk
100 grams castor sugar
6 large eggs
4-5 drops of gumleaf oil

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 160°C, while you are preparing the caramel. Grease eight ovenproof dariole moulds or ramekins which hold around half a cup of liquid. Then in a medium sized saucepan combine the lemon aspen, 100g sugar and 100ml of water over a low heat and bring to the boil; it is important not to stir the caramel to prevent it forming crystals. Boil for around 5 to 10 minutes brushing any sugar that lands on the side of the saucepan and crystallizes back down into the mixture with a pastry brush dipped in water. Remove the mixture from the heat when it has changed to a golden caramel or light amber colour; a dark amber colour indicates the caramel is over-cooked and will taste burnt and bitter. Pour a little of the hot caramel into each of the prepared moulds and swirl the mixture around to cover the bottom of each mould. Once the caramel is done, in a medium saucepan warm the milk and briefly remove it from the heat. Then in a large bowl, whisk the eggs and 100g castor sugar together until the sugar has nearly dissolved; add the gumleaf oil and warm milk. Sieve the custard mixture into a jug or pitcher, then skim off any bubbles or froth from the custard; pour evenly into the 8 moulds and place in a baking dish. Pour hot water (not boiling) into the baking dish until the water reaches half way up the sides of the moulds. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the custard is set; cool and refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours before serving. Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

5×120 grams kangaroo fillet
6 grams alpine pepper
3 grams Australian outback salt
10 pieces quandong confit
1 punnet shitake mushrooms
1 punnet oyster mushrooms
1 punnet enoki mushrooms
50 ml. chicken jus
3 grams aniseed myrtle
80 grams corn flour
10 grams butter

For Yakajirri Rosti:
7 grams Yakajirri
750 grams Idaho potatoes
1 egg
50 grams corn starch
2 shallots (finely chopped)
5 grams outback salt
10 grams butter

Firstly peel and grate the potatoes. Squeeze the gratings and strain off any liquid. Combine potato and remaining ingredients. Season. On a hotplate or skillet and using egg rings, place a little potato mixture into the egg ring. Seal both sides, then place on baking tray. When all are sealed off, bake the rosti in the oven at 170°C until well browned. In a sauce pan melt a little butter, sauté the oyster mushrooms and shitake mushrooms and deglaze with chicken jus then season with aniseed myrtle. Season the kangaroo fillet with Alpine Pepper and Outback Salt. Sear on grill until medium rare. Allow to rest, then slice across the grain. Break the enoki mushrooms apart, then place in corn flour and deep fry till golden. Remove and allow to drain on paper towelling. To serve, place the rosti on the plate, then the mixed mushrooms and the kangaroo on top. Garnish with crisp enoki mushrooms and drizzle the prepared mushroom sauce around the edge of the plate.

Ingredients:

1 kg. peeled green king prawns
corn flour
wooden chop sticks
200 grams palm sugar
100 ml. lemon aspen
2 red chilli
30 ml. vinegar or mirin
oil for deepfrying

Procedure:

In a sauce pan melt the palm sugar and heat till the liquid thins. Add in the lemon aspen juice and whisk briskly. Also add in the vinegar. Add the chilli and allow to cool. Dust the green prawns in corn flour and deep fry till golden. Serve prawns, wedged between wooden chop sticks and warm lemon aspen sauce. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 kg. mince beef (even better minced cold roast)
1 onion finely chopped
salt & pepper (other seasonings to taste)
1 cup gravy or stock
1/2 cups mixed vegetables (optional - frozen or leftovers)
2 cups mashed potatoes (4-6 medium raw potatoes)
2 tsp melted butter

Procedure:

Fry onion and mince. Cook mince if not already cooked. Combine with gravy and seasonings. Place in a round casserole or deep pie dish. Layer mixed vegetables over the meat. Cover with a generous layer of mashed potato. Smooth top and then decorate with a fork, pour over melted butter. Bake in oven until warm through and top lightly browned.

Ingredients:

For mint-pepper glaze:
2/3 cup apricot jam
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

For lamb:
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
3 pounds boneless leg of lamb, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes
12 fresh figs, halved vertically
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly coarse-ground black pepper
Special equipment: about 30 (12-inch) metal skewers

For grilled eggplant:
2 eggplants, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly coarse-ground black pepper

Procedure:

Make mint-pepper glaze: In small saucepan over moderate heat, stir together jam, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest. Bring to boil, then lower heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool 5 minutes. Stir in mint and set aside.
Prepare grill for cooking: If using charcoal grill, open vents on bottom, then light charcoal. Charcoal fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 4 to 5 seconds. If using gas grill, preheat burners on high with hood closed 10 minutes, then turn down to moderately high.
Prepare lamb: In electric spice mill or clean coffee grinder, combine cumin and coriander seeds. Pulse several times to coarsely grind. In large bowl, toss together lamb, figs, and olive oil. Add garlic, ground cumin and coriander, salt, and pepper, and toss gently to combine. Thread lamb cubes and figs onto skewers.
Prepare eggplant: Arrange eggplant slices on platter. Rub each slice on both sides with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Grill lamb and eggplant: Arrange skewers and eggplant on grill. Cook eggplant, turning once, until slices are golden and moist, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Cook lamb to slightly less than desired doneness (cubes will continue to cook after being removed from grill), turning once and brushing with glaze during last 30 seconds of grilling on each side, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare.Arrange eggplant slices on serving platter, top with skewers, and serve.