Serves: 4

Difficulty: 

Ingredients

For the dish

4×150g duck breast
1 bunch water cress
1 chopped chilli hot
4 serves shiitake mushrooms
4 serves enoki mushrooms
1 Paperbark Roll
1 teaspoon Alpine Pepper
30g Illawarra Plum Sauce

Method

1. Use a cast iron or camp oven, line it with damp paperbark (Vic tells me he saves the off-cuts when thinning sheets for this) and set over a medium heat with the lid on
2. crust the duck breast with Alpine pepper
3. when the camp oven has heated enough to fill with smoke, place the duck breast inside for about 15~20 minutes or until the juices just run clear when the breast is pricked with a skewer
4. remove from the camp oven and rest in a warm place for 5 minutes this will help redistribute the juices in the meat
5. slice the duck into thin slices
6. slice shitake mushrooms and tease apart the enoki
7. wash the watercress

Styling

Place the cress in the centre of the plate and alternately, layer the mushrooms and duck. Garnish with the chilli and enoki mushrooms or some deep-fried vermicelli. Finish with the Illawarra plum sauce and serve with extra sauce to the side.

Dining Downunder Cookbook

This Australian recipe of Paperbark smoked duck with Illawarra plum sauce is included in the Dining Downunder Cookbook which can be purchased online at the Dining Downunder Online Shop. Also available online is a wide range of native Australian herbs and spices, sauces, syrups, infused oils and bush tucker ingredients such as wattleseed and paperbark rolls.

Episode: Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107

Recipe By: Mark McCluskey

A short cut in this recipe could be to buy Peking duck and briefly smoke it a camp oven lined with paperbark.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Ricotta figs and macadamia nuts
• Salt and pepper yabbie skewers

Other Episodes

• The Three Sisters and the Post Office Restaurant in Leura
• The Cowrie Restaurant Terrigal Beach
• Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney
• Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman
• Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107
• Lillipilli in the Rocks
• Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains
• Feast Restaurant on Avoca Beach
• Crowne Plaza Newcastle
• Buderim Ginger and Bistro C in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast

Serves: 4

Difficulty:

Ingredients

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

Method

1. 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
2. whip the egg whites to soft peaks; add the sugar and lemon juice slowly until stiff peaks form
3. line a baking tray with baking paper to cover an area the width of the baking paper and 1¼ times the length
4. spread the pavlova mix over the baking paper in a rectangular shape to a depth of 2cm
5. 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
6. 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.
7. 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
8. spread the Wattle cream evenly over the meringue to a thickness of around 1cm or ½ an inch
9. roll up the pavlova using the long edge of the towel; cut the ends on an angle (good cooks will selflessly taste-test the trimmings)
10. before removing the towel completely, lift the pavlova onto a platter and roll the pavlova off the towel

Styling

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. I’d add a pinch of Fruit Spice to this sauce as well to enhance the fruitiness.

Dining Downunder Cookbook

This Australian recipe of Wattleseed pavlova is included in the Dining Downunder Cookbookwhich can be purchased online at the Dining Downunder Online Shop. Also available online is a wide range of native Australian herbs and spices, sauces, syrups, infused oils and bush tucker ingredients such as wattleseed and paperbark rolls.

Episode: Feast Restaurant on Avoca Beach

Recipe By: Vic Cherikoff

This 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 in Swiss roll fashion instead of as a cow pat must put us in front.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Barralax on rainforest herb linguini
• Wine drenched lamb with Alpine Pepper mash

Other Episodes

• The Three Sisters and the Post Office Restaurant in Leura
• The Cowrie Restaurant Terrigal Beach
• Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney
• Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman
• Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107
• Lillipilli in the Rocks
• Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains
• Feast Restaurant on Avoca Beach
• Crowne Plaza Newcastle
• Buderim Ginger and Bistro C in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast

Serves: As many as you want

Difficulty:

Ingredients

2-3 cups of self-raising flour
a pinch of salt
milk or water
a dash of Wattleseed Extract
oil spray for frying or a non-stick pan
Riberry Confit

Method

1. mix the flour and salt and add enough milk or water to just take up all the dry mix
2. continue adding liquid and stirring well to make a smooth, thick batter
3. add the wattleseed extract or the grounds to get a pale coffee colour and leave to stand for 15 minutes
4. adjust the thickness by adding more liquid, if necessary, choosing to make pancakes or crepes (thick or thin, respectively).
5. into a lightly oiled or non-stick pan heated to medium high heat, pour in a small ladle-full of batter (or use a squeeze bottle as I did on the show) using enough batter to make 12 or 13
pancakes all up (a good cook will always try one pancake in case it needs more flavour)
6. leave to cook through until the top side is just dry and flip the pancake over
7. cook briefly to finish (around 30 seconds)
8. store the cooked pancakes under a kitchen towel until all the pancakes are done

Styling

1. It’s your choice of stacking or spreading. All I can say is this is a frequent Sunday breakfast for me sometimes with wattleseed cream or Fruit Spice sour cream instead of the ice cream.

Dining Downunder Cookbook

This Australian recipe of Wattleseed pancakes with riberry confit is included in the Dining Downunder Cookbook which can be purchased online at the Dining Downunder Online Shop. Also available online is a wide range of native Australian herbs and spices, sauces, syrups, infused oils and bush tucker ingredients such as wattleseed and paperbark rolls.

Episode: Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains

Recipe By: Vic Cherikoff

I normally don’t like stacked dishes because as soon as you hit it with a fork, it looks like the dog’s dinner. An alternative way to serve them is to cook thin crepes, pack them with the fruit mix and lavish them with cream or ice cream. Note that there are short cuts given in this recipe but some of the components are best prepared ahead of time or obtained ready-made.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Japanese pumpkin frittata served with bush tomato chutney
• Riberry and Blue Cheese Damper
• White bean cassoulet

Other Episodes

• The Three Sisters and the Post Office Restaurant in Leura
• The Cowrie Restaurant Terrigal Beach
• Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney
• Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman
• Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107
• Lillipilli in the Rocks
• Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains
• Feast Restaurant on Avoca Beach
• Crowne Plaza Newcastle
• Buderim Ginger and Bistro C in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast

Serves: 4

Difficulty:

Ingredients

500ml milk
500ml double cream
6 small bread rolls
40g butter
200g sugar
6 eggs
25g munthari
60g Wattleseed
60g walnuts, chopped
80g Quandong Confit
100ml honey
juice and zest from ½ orange

Method

1. Slice the bread rolls evenly and butter each slice, with the remaining butter, line the dariole dishes
2. place the bread into the dishes together with the munthari and walnut pieces, scattered between the bread slices
3. combine the double cream, milk and wattleseed and bring to the boil in a pot
4. in a bowl cream the eggs and sugar together until firm
5. gradually add the milk and cream mixture to the eggs stirring well
6. pour the mix into the darile dishes
7. in a deep tray, lay some folded newspaper on the base and place the dariole dishes on it; fill the tray with hot water half way up the sides of the dishes and cover the whole tray with foil
8. cook in an oven at 160° for 25 minutes, remove the foil and continue cooking for another 20 minutes or until done; the custard should be set and the bread just browned
9. when cooked remove the dishes from the tray and allow to cool on the bench
10. in a small saucepan, warm the honey; add the quandong and the orange juice and zest
11. simmer for 5 minutes and allow to cool

Styling

To serve, dust with icing sugar and glazed quandongs.

Dining Downunder Cookbook

This Australian recipe of Wattleseed and walnut bread and butter pudding with stewed fruits is included in the Dining Downunder Cookbook which can be purchased online at the Dining Downunder Online Shop. Also available online is a wide range of native Australian herbs and spices, sauces, syrups, infused oils and bush tucker ingredients such as wattleseed and paperbark rolls.

Episode: Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107

Recipe By: Vic Cherikoff

This is a really simple but delicious dessert which can be substituted any number of ways. Use different fruits such as mango, apricots, peaches or stewed pears. Substitute the various herbs with Australian or varietal mints or peppermint, try basil or chervil, licorice or aniseed and mix them into a range of alternative cheeses such as quark or cottage cheese, cream cheeses such as Philadelphia, Neufchatel, mascarpone or even straight sour cream or yoghurt. Try a range of pure honeys, maple syrup, palm sugar syrup, brandy butter, golden syrup or fruit syrups (rose hip, pomegranate etc). And finally, introduce different nuts such as pecans, pistachio, Brazil nuts, pine nuts etc.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Paperbark smoked duck with Illawarra plum sauce
• Salt and pepper yabbie skewers

Other Episodes

• The Three Sisters and the Post Office Restaurant in Leura
• The Cowrie Restaurant Terrigal Beach
• Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney
• Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman
• Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107
• Lillipilli in the Rocks
• Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains
• Feast Restaurant on Avoca Beach
• Crowne Plaza Newcastle
• Buderim Ginger and Bistro C in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast

Serves: 4

Difficulty:

Ingredients

4 large or 8 small figs
1 tablespoon ricotta cheese per fig
¼ ~ ½ teaspoon Lemon Myrtle
½ cup grape nectar
macadamia nut pieces (toasted) for garnish

Method and styling
Trim the fat end of each fig so that the fruit stands up-right. Cut the thin end with a cross to open up the figs but still keeping them in one piece. Mix the Oz Lemon into the ricotta, preferably at least 2 hours before serving as this allows the flavours to really penetrate the cheese. Place a tablespoonful of the prepared cheese in each cross cut fig. Grill until the figs are warm and
the cheese just bubbles. Plate up the figs, drizzle with the grape nectar and garnish with the toasted macadamia nut pieces. Serve immediately with a strong coffee for that hint of bitterness to add to the complexity of taste.

Dining Downunder Cookbook

This Australian recipe of Ricotta figs and macadamia nuts are included in the Dining Downunder Cookbook which can be purchased online at the Dining Downunder Online Shop. Also available online is a wide range of native Australian herbs and spices, sauces, syrups, infused oils and bush tucker ingredients such as wattleseed and paperbark rolls.

Episode: Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107

Recipe By: Vic Cherikoff

This is a really simple but delicious dessert which can be substituted any number of ways. Use different fruits such as mango, apricots, peaches or stewed pears. Substitute the various herbs with Australian or varietal mints or peppermint, try basil or chervil, licorice or aniseed and mix them into a range of alternative cheeses such as quark or cottage cheese, cream cheeses such as Philadelphia, Neufchatel, mascarpone or even straight sour cream or yoghurt. Try a range of pure honeys, maple syrup, palm sugar syrup, brandy butter, golden syrup or fruit syrups (rose hip, pomegranate etc). And finally, introduce different nuts such as pecans, pistachio, Brazil nuts, pine nuts etc.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Paperbark smoked duck with Illawarra plum sauce
• Salt and pepper yabbie skewers

Other Episodes

• The Three Sisters and the Post Office Restaurant in Leura
• The Cowrie Restaurant Terrigal Beach
• Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney
• Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman
• Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107
• Lillipilli in the Rocks
• Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains
• Feast Restaurant on Avoca Beach
• Crowne Plaza Newcastle
• Buderim Ginger and Bistro C in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast

Serves: 4

Difficulty:

Ingredients

250g polenta
800ml of water
150ml Lemon Aspen Syrup
2 fresh figs
20g Wild Rosella Confit
50g castor sugar
30ml sugarbag
100ml fresh cream
40g Riberry Confit

Method

1. In a pot, combine the water, lemon aspen syrup and polenta; bring to the boil, stirring constantly
2. the polenta will take 5 -7 minutes to cook through, once at a boil
3. spoon out the polenta from the pot and place into a flat tray and allow to cool
4. once cool, cut into triangle or hexagon shapes, with three pieces per serve
5. in a bowl, briskly whip the fresh cream to stiff peaks and flavour with the sugarbag; use maple syrup as a substitute; set aside
6. slice the figs into thin slices
7. in another pot, heat castor sugar until dissolved; it may require a little water to soften the mix

Styling

Finally assemble the dish, by placing a piece of the polenta on the plate. Then add a little cream and fig slice and repeat, building up the dish. Garnish with cream, riberries and the sugared rosella.

Dining Downunder Cookbook

This Australian recipe of Polenta and Lemon Aspen cake with sugar bag and Wild Rosella Cream is included in the Dining Downunder Cookbook which can be purchased online at the Dining Downunder Online Shop. Also available online is a wide range of native Australian herbs and spices, sauces, syrups, infused oils and bush tucker ingredients such as wattleseed and paperbark rolls.

Episode: Crowne Plaza Newcastle

Recipe By: Vic Cherikoff

We seem to forget that polenta or corn was once only food for native American Indians and is now a world food crop. Contrast this to Australia where the only global food species native to this country is the macadamia nut. But times they are a-changing.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Aussie burger and chips
• Seafood laksa with wild limes and lemon myrtle linguini

Other Episodes

• The Three Sisters and the Post Office Restaurant in Leura
• The Cowrie Restaurant Terrigal Beach
• Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney
• Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman
• Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107
• Lillipilli in the Rocks
• Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains
• Feast Restaurant on Avoca Beach
• Crowne Plaza Newcastle
• Buderim Ginger and Bistro C in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast

For Australia Day, our chefs visit the Sydney Fish Markets, then board a cruiser for a seafood lunch on Sydney Harbour. Our skipper finds a sheltered cove and we cook on the BBQ off the back of the boat. It’s a great way to enjoy this amazing part of Sydney on an Australia Day long weekend or anytime.

Sydney Harbour, otherwise known as Port Jackson is the natural waterway of our busiest city and is considered one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. On final approach to a landing at Sydney airport the harbour is a sight to behold and you’ll often hear the sighs of pleasure from returning Sydneysiders aboard the aeroplane.

The harbour’s discovery by Europeans is credited to James Cook in 1770, who named the harbour after Sir George Jackson, Judge Advocate of the Fleet at the time. However, the harbour had been home to two Aboriginal tribes, one on each side of the waterway, for at least 26,000 years. Captain Arthur Phillip established the first colony of the invading Europeans in Australia at Sydney Cove inside Port Jackson in 1788. That colony grew to become the township and then the city of Sydney.

Sydney Harbour these days is also a very productive waterway in terms of a fishery, as a recreational resource and a working river system and the great views often enhance the food in the many restaurants around its foreshores.

Web links

www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au

Address

Sydney Fish Market
Bank Street
Pyrmont, NSW, 2009
Australia

Recipes from this Episode

• Char-grilled baby octopus
• Mud crab and smoked kumara gnocchi
• Paperbark smoked barramundi
• Soused sea perch fillets
• Sydney Salad
• Wild rosella and wasabi dressing

Other Episodes from this series

• Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney
• Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107
• Lillipilli in the Rocks
• Feast Restaurant on Avoca Beach
• The Cowrie Restaurant Terrigal Beach
• Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman
• Crowne Plaza Newcastle
• Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains
• Buderim Ginger and Bistro C in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast
• Banjo Patterson’s Restaurant on the Parramatta River

Serves: 4

Difficulty: 

Ingredients

200g plain flour
35g castor sugar
50g butter, softened
2 eggs
2 gelatine leaves
125g chocolate chips
200ml cream
3 drops gumleaf oil
35g castor sugar
10g Rosella Confit

Method

1. In a food processor using a pulse action, combine the plain flour, 35g of castor sugar and the softened butter
2. to this mix, add one egg being careful not to over beat; if the pastry is overworked it becomes tough
3. once mixed, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour; this recipe can be doubled easily and the excess well wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for other recipes
4. on a well floured bench, quickly roll out the pastry to about 5mm thickness and shape the pastry to fit the desired flat tray, in this case, 4×5cm flan tins
5. press the pastry up the sides of the tin; rest the tins in the fridge for a further 20 minutes
6. place a piece of greaseproof paper into the tin and fill with rice; this is known as blind baking and ensures the pastry does not slide down or form bubbles on the base; bake at 160°C for 15 minutes
7. when the cases are cool, place 125ml of cream into a small pot and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat
8. soak the gelatine leaves in cold water
9. place chocolate chips and the remaining egg into a blender and process for 30 seconds
10. while the machine is running, slowly pour the heated cream into the chocolate mixture blend until well mixed and the chocolate chips are melted, then add the squeezed gelatine
11. pour the mix into cool tart cases and refrigerate until set
12. with the remaining 75ml cream, briskly whisk together with 15g sugar and gum leaf oil; taste the cream after 2 drops of gumleaf oil adding more if necessary

Serve garnished with a dollop of sweetened gumleaf cream and Rosella Confit and syrup.

Dining Downunder Cookbook

This Australian recipe of Chocolate mousse tart with gumleaf cream and wild rosella flowers is included in the Dining Downunder Cookbook which can be purchased online at the Dining Downunder Online Shop. Also available online is a wide range of native Australian herbs and spices, sauces, syrups, infused oils and bush tucker ingredients such as wattleseed and paperbark rolls.

Episode: Alberts Lakeside Restaurant Norwest Sydney

Recipe By: Vic Cherikoff

Chocolate really suits some specific Australian flavours. If we think of semi-sweet, dark, rich chocolate, then Australian peppermint, gumleaf oil and aniseed myrtle complement well. Quandong, Kakadu plum, Illawarra plum, wild rosella but particularly Wattleseed really go well with white chocolate. Then for the middle of the road; milk chocolate, I’d suggest glace riberries, Oz Lemon, some of the spicy flavours and paperbark smoke flavours. Try some of these in this mousse recipe and see what your tastebuds tell you.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Kangaroo rump with ricotta filled pine mushrooms and rocket
• Three cheese corn fritters with a paperbark smoked beetroot jam

Other Episodes

• The Three Sisters and the Post Office Restaurant in Leura
• The Cowrie Restaurant Terrigal Beach
• Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney
• Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman
• Margaret River and restaurant Vat 107
• Lillipilli in the Rocks
• Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains
• Feast Restaurant on Avoca Beach
• Crowne Plaza Newcastle
• Buderim Ginger and Bistro C in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast