Great Australian Food

You can't mention Australian food without paying homage to the Pavlova. Leave the lamingtons, forget the ANZAC biscuits, the great Australian sweet is a Pavlova.

Not surprisingly the Pavlova raises more passion than old fashioned greed, this Australian contribution to International Cuisine is a source of envy for the New Zealanders. Frequently one of them will lay false claim to the Pav. It's just not true! The Pavlova is Australian!

Bush Tucker isn't just witchetty grubs, although Wijuti are incredibly high in protein and free for the eating, but all of our unique native foods.

How about smoked kangaroo steak rolled in kurrajong flour, seasoned with wild lime and lemon myrtle, lightly tossed in macadamia nut oil and served with bush tomatoes, native cranberries and warrigal greens. Followed by wattle seed ice cream, lilly pilly berries in native honey and stewed quandongs.

Bush tucker is becoming widespread, thanks to a spate of recent health studies showing that native Australian meats, especially emu and kangaroo, are lower in fat and higher in iron than other conventional meats. The fruits are also known to be healthier, with the Kakadu plum thought to be the world's highest source of Vitamin C.

Most of what European settlers believed to be inedible is now considered very much the norm on the menus of top restaurants around the country.

Deeeeelicious!

500 grams shelled green prawns (roughly 1 lb)
1 Tablespoon soya sauce
1 Tablespoon sherry
1 Teaspoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic minced finely
About 1 inch long stem of green ginger minced finely

Place the prawns in a single layer in a flat bowl.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the prawns, stirring to ensure all prawns are coated.

Cover and refrigerate for an hour, turning the prawns over a couple of times.

Heat up the Barbie to medium and lightly oil the plate.

Throw the prawns on

Cook for about 2 minutes then turn and cook for another 2 minutes. Do NOT overcook!

Spoon over any remaining marinade while cooking.

Serve and scoff!

What could be more refreshing, colourful and instantly appealing than an Australian mango salad?

2 large ripe mangoes
1 large cucumber
2 to 3 teaspoons lime juice
1 level tablespoon sugar
1 to 2 level teaspoons freshly grated green ginger (or more if you fancy ginger)

Slice cheeks from mangoes, skin and slice flesh into strips.

Skin and remove seeds from cucumber (or be daring and leave the seeds in), slice and mix with mango.

Shake the rest of the ingredients together, pour over the salad and serve.

A perfect and traditional accompaniment to the Australian Christmas lunch table.

Also gorgeous with a sliced banana added to the mango