Instructions
BEACHCOMBERS’ PARADISE
POT-STEAMED PIPIS AND COCKLES WITH CHARRED FENNEL, BLISTERED TOMATOES, SAMPHIRE AND BEACH SPINACH
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
1 head fennel sliced
2 cup mixed heirloom tomatoes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt flakes and freshly-ground black pepper
1kg mixed pipis and cockles
2 cups kelp
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup macadamias, toasted
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp toasted fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
2 cups mixed samphire and beach spinach
2 tsp fennel pollen
1 Toss the fennel and tomatoes with 1 Tbsp of olive oil, then scorch with a blowtorch. Season with salt and pepper.
2 Put the pipis, cockles, kelp and wine in a saucepan and set over a high heat. Once boiling, fit the lid and cook until the shells open.
3 Meanwhile, put the macadamias, garlic and spices in a mortar and pound to a paste. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the shellfish with the fennel mixture, macadamia paste, samphire and beach spinach. Serve topped with fennel pollen.
HERB-CRUSTED BREAM FILLETS WITH BLACKENED POTATOES, SEA PARSLEY, NEPTUNE’S BEARD AND ROASTED CAPSICUMS
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: 4
2 red capsicums
1 long red chili
1 large eggplant
6 cloves garlic, finely sliced
4 sprigs thyme leaves
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt flakes and freshly-ground black pepper
4 medium potatoes
4 bream fillets
2 bunches parsley, very finely chopped
1 cup mixed sea parsley, Neptune’s beard and nasturtium leaves
2 Tbsp herb oil, to garnish
1 Preheat oven to 220°C. Arrange the capsicums and chili on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, until blackened. Cover and allow to cool, then peel, seed and roughly chop. Bake the eggplant for 1 hour, then halve and scoop the flesh into a saucepan with the capsicum mixture, garlic, thyme and ½ cup olive oil. Cook over a low heat for 1 hour until thickened, then season with salt and pepper.
2 Bake the potatoes until lightly blackened, then halve.
3 Rub the fish with the remaining olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Cook skin side down on a hot griddle for 3 minutes, then turn over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Coat the skin side with parsley.
4 Spread the capsicum mixture on plates, then halve the potatoes and arrange on top with the fish. Scatter the sea vegetables alongside, then drizzle with herb oil.
EASY RICOTTA MOUSSE WITH RASPBERRIES
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: nil
Serves: 4
250g ricotta
250g crème fraiche
75g icing sugar
1½ tsp vanilla bean paste
finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup dulce de leche, warmed
2 punnets raspberries
bunya nut powder, toasted icing sugar and baby mint leaves, to garnish
1 Combine the ricotta, crème fraiche, icing sugar, vanilla, zest, juice and xanthan gum in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 3 minutes. Marble the dulce de leche in, then load into a piping bag fitted with a large nozzle and pipe into glasses. Top with raspberries, bunya nut powder, icing sugar and baby mint leaves.
FLAVOURS OF THE RIVER COUNTRY
SIMPLE OLIVE LEAF SPAETZLE WITH CHARRED BLACK AND GREEN OLIVES, WILD GARLIC AND PICKLED MELON SKIN
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
¼ watermelon
2 Tbsp sea salt flakes
½ cup rice malt syrup
½ cup rice wine vinegar
juice of 2 limes
2 cinnamon sticks
1½ cups plain flour
2 Tbsp olive leaf powder
2 eggs
1 cup mixed olives, chopped
4 sprigs rosemary leaves
2 heads young wild garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups baby kale leaves
1 cup shaved Manchego
1 Remove the watermelon flesh, then juice. Peel the green outer skin off the watermelon rind, then shave 2 cups into fine slices, discarding the rest. Toss with the salt flakes, set aside for one hour, then rinse and drain. Put the shavings into a 750ml jar.
2 Combine the watermelon juice, syrup, vinegar, lime juice and cinnamon in a medium saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. Pour over the watermelon, then store for 1 week before using.
3 Mix the flour, olive leaf powder, eggs and ¾ cup water in a bowl and beat until smooth. Fry the olives, rosemary and garlic in the extra virgin olive oil for 5 minutes, until lightly blackened. Press the batter through a colander into a saucepan of simmering water, then scoop out and add to the pan with the kale.
4 Spoon into plates, then top with the pickled melon skin and shaved Manchego cheese.
ROASTED HOGGET RACK WITH SMOKED CARROT LABNE, WILD LEAVES AND TOMATO SALÇASI
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4
500g Greek yoghurt
8 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 red capsicum, seeded
2 long red chillies, seeded
2 Tbsp raw sugar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt flakes and freshly-ground black pepper
2 carrots, peeled
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp ground fennel seeds
2 x 4-bone hogget racks
2 cups mixed wild leaves (rambling dock, nasturtiums, dandelion &c)
½ cup madeira jus
1 Preheat oven to 220°C. Place the yoghurt into a muslin bag and hang for 1 hour to remove excess water. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, sugar and half the olive oil in a saucepan, then set over a moderate heat. Cook for 1 hour, then season with salt and pepper and pass through a food mill.
2 Grate the carrots on the fine blade of a box grater, then mix with the yoghurt, garlic and fennel seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Spread in a bowl, cover with cling film, then paint with a smoking gun.
3 Season the hogget racks with salt and rub with the remaining oil. Arrange on roasting tray and bake for 30 minutes, until deep-brown and caramelised. Carve and serve with the carrot labne, tomato sauce, leaves and jus.
“Hogget is simply lamb with wanderlust and a decent education. It’s killed when it’s between twelve and eighteen months old, so it knows a thing or two about flavour. It doesn’t overwhelm like old mutton, yet still bleats with ovine delight.”
ALMOND AND HONEY CAKE WITH STRAWBERRIES IN FRESH ROSE PETAL SAUCE
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves: 10
4 eggs, separated
1½ cup caster sugar
1½ cups almond meal
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
½ tsp cream of tartar
¼ cup sliced almonds
1½ cup dry white wine
1 tsp rosewater
1 cup fresh organic fragrant rose petals
2 punnets strawberries, quartered
icing sugar and candied lemon slices, to garnish
1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine the yolks with ½ cup caster sugar in a bowl and whisk until very light. Fold in the almond meal and lemon zest. Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar to stiff peaks, fold in, then spoon into a lined 23cm cake tin. Scatter with sliced almonds then bake for 35 minutes, until just firm. Cool in the tin.
2 Combine the wine and remaining caster sugar in a saucepan with the rosewater and boil until syrupy. Pour over the rose petals and strawberries, then stand for 20 minutes. Serve with slices of cake and cream.
OUR WIDE BROWN LAND
CAMPFIRE KANGAROO FILLET WITH TEA-TEA LEAF AND PEPPERBERRY, CANDIED SWEET POTATOES
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
2 kangaroo fillets
sea salt flakes and ground mountain pepper leaf
1 Tbsp macadamia oil
1 cup tea tree leaves
1 Tbsp mountain pepperberry
2 cups organic hay
4 small sweet potatoes
2 radishes, finely sliced
½ red onion, finely sliced
1 long green chilli, seeded and finely sliced
1 cup watercress leaves
1 Tbsp pepitas, chopped
2 Tbsp coconut flakes, toasted
herb oil and lime zest, to serve
1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Season the kangaroo with salt and mountain pepper leaf. Drizzle with macadamia oil, then grill over a high heat until browned. Put the tea trees, pepperberry and hay in the bottom of a camp oven and set over a moderate heat until smoking. Put the kangaroo on a trivet on top, fit the lid, then cook for 30 minutes, until medium-rare.
2 Meanwhile, arrange the sweet potatoes on a lined tray and bake for 45 minutes, until completely tender and slightly syrupy at the ends. Toss the radishes, onion, chilli, watercress, pepitas and coconut flakes.
2 Peel the sweet potatoes, carve the kangaroo finely, then serve with the salad, herb oil and lime zest.
NO-FUSS SALTBUSH LAMB PAPRIKASH WITH HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT AND APPLE SAUCE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours
Serves: 4-6
4 cups shredded red cabbage
1 long red chilli, very finely sliced
5cm piece ginger, cut into fine batons
2 Tbsp fine salt
¼ tsp caraway seeds
¼ tsp fennel seeds
2 Tbsp rock salt
2 Pink Lady apples
2 Tbsp bush honey
sea salt flakes and freshly-ground black pepper
1 brown onion, finely sliced
2 sticks celery, finely sliced
8 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 bunch thyme, finely chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1kg saltbush lamb shoulder, diced
2 Tbsp dried saltbush leaves
2 Tbsp Hungarian paprika
1L beef stock
Damper, sour cream and chopped parsley, to serve
1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Toss the cabbage, chilli and ginger in salt, then set aside for 5 minutes. Rinse lightly, then mix with the caraway, fennel and rock salt then press into a 500ml jar. Top up with water if needed, then set aside for 3 days. Seal, then refrigerate for 4 days before serving.
2 Wrap the apples in foil, then bake for 45 minutes. Unwrap, halve, then scoop out the soft flesh and beat with the honey. Season with salt.
3 Fry the onion, celery, garlic and thyme in half the extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan set over a high heat, until softened. Set aside. Fry the lamb in the remaining oil until browned. Return the vegetables, then add the saltbush, paprika, paprika and stock. Season with salt and pepper, then simmer for 2 hours, until the lamb is softened.
4 Mix in the parsley, then serve with damper, sour cream, apple sauce and sauerkraut.
BUSH HONEY DUMPLINGS IN CINNAMON MYRTLE MILK BROTH WITH RED WINE PEARS
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
2 pears, peeled and cored
500ml red wine
½ cup caster sugar
1 cup self-raising flour
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
500ml orange juice
½ cup bush honey
½ cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon myrtle leaves
300ml double cream
pistachios and dried rose petals, to serve
1 Combine the pears, wine and caster sugar in a small saucepan and top up with water to cover. Set over a moderate heat, then simmer for 15 minutes, until the pears are just tender. Allow to cool, then halve lengthways.
2 Mix the flour and 25g butter in a bowl until crumbly, then add the egg and orange juice, mixing to make a thick batter. Put the juice, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon myrtle and 1 cup of pear syrup in a medium saucepan and set over a moderate heat until simmering.
3 Place tablespoons of the batter into the simmering syrup and cook very gently for 10 minutes. Scoop out the dumplings and put in a bowl with the pears. Mix the cream into the dumpling syrup, then ladle over. Garnish with pistachios and dried rose petals.
CAMPFIRE STORYTIME
AUSTRALIAN BUSHFOOD BILLY TEA CHAI
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves: 6
1 Tbsp green tea leaves
1 Tbsp dried strawberry gum leaves
1 Tbsp dried lemon myrtle leaves
½ Australian vanilla bean, split
¼ cup bush honey
1 cup macadamia milk
1 Combine the green tea leaves, strawberry gum leaves, lemon myrtle leaves, vanilla bean and honey in a medium saucepan with 1L cold water. Set over a moderate heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the macadamia milk, then strain through a fine sieve, and serve.