Australian Native Cuisine

The indigenous people of Australia have used the fruits and plants growing widely on the land for centuries. It has taken many years, but Indigenous foods are becoming more widely known and available, being grown very successfully by a group of farmers in South Australia, giving us the opportunity to create dishes such as; Calamari seasoned with lemon myrtle, Lemon myrtle linguine tossed with local scallops and prawns, Native spinach fettuccine with Springs Smoked Salmon with creamy bush tomato and macadamia sauce, Kangaroo fillet crusted with Mountain Pepper, and served with a pepper berry dressing and fresh leaf salad.

The aboriginal people have traditionally ground seeds to make a kind of flour, added water and baked a kind of Damper in the coals of their cooking fires.

In Australia they have a freshwater crustacean that creeps on the bottom of streams, lakes and in farm dams; they are called Yabbies, and have been enjoyed by indigenous Australians for centuries. Now the rest of the world is waking up to their secret delights. Their delicate, sweet flavour and firm texture has won lavish praise from connoisseurs the world over. They are absolutely delicious, and can be used in Yabbie Chowder, Yabbie Pate, or Yabbie Stir Fry with Asian vegetables.

Some examples of Bush Tucker:

Lemon myrtle: fresh leaf, or ground dried leaf of the Lemon Myrtle tree
Mountain Pepper: ground leaf or berries of the mountain pepper tree
Native spinach: warrugul greens, a native spinach growing in coastal areas
Bush tomatoes: small tomato-like fruits, also called desert raising
Macadamia nuts: a nut, native of Australia, now grown in other places
Wattle seed: A small, oval, black variety of the Acacia seed. Wattle seed is used in many foods including rice, soups, meat rubs and baked goods.
View video of native Australian cuisine at www.wineandfoodtube.com