Serves: 4

Difficulty:

Ingredients

400g potatoes
12-18 bunya nuts
4×250g monkfish fillets
100g rocket
80g macadamia nuts
50g parsley
100ml olive oil
20g butter
30g honey
¼ teaspoon Outback Salt
½ teaspoon Rainforest Rub
Sprig of watercress for garnish

Method

1. First, peel the potatoes and bring them to the boil in small pot; in another pot, boil the bunya nuts and allow to cool in the boiled water
2. for the pesto; finely chop the macadamia nuts, rocket, parsley or blend together in a food processor and then reduce this mixture to a paste in a mortar and pestle adding a little olive oil, honey, Rainforest Rub and salt to taste.
3. remove the shells from the bunya nuts and chop the nut meat finely; drain the potatoes; coarsely mash both of these in a bowl and season with Outback salt and form into hash brown sized patties
4. in a sauce pan, heat a little olive oil and melt in some butter; panfry the bunya nut hash browns until golden; it may require a little more olive oil during the process; make sure to keep the temperature down to low to avoid any smoking of the oil
5. ensure the fish is free of all bones and in another sauce pan heat a little olive oil and butter and pan fry the monkfish until also golden brown on medium heat

Styling

When cooked, place a bunya nut hash brown on the plate, top with the monk fish, then simply garnish with the rocket and macadamia nut pesto and a sprig of watercress.

Dining Downunder Cookbook
This Australian recipe of Panfried monkfish with bunya nut hash, rocket and macadamia nut pesto 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 wattleseedand paperbark rolls.

Episode: Redgum Restaurant at Boronia House Mosman

Recipe By: Benjamin Christie

While I was an apprentice chef at the Watermark restaurant in Sydney, the kitchen brigade took turns on who would create the fish of the day offering. You could always tell the best ones as they often sold out by the middle of service and I’m proud of some of the best-selling dishes I concocted during my time there. Since then, in each restaurant I have run I have showcased the fantastic fish available in Australia, including my favorite coral trout. Although this dish is not one of the specials we created, it is rather similar in presentation and style to those we prepared many years ago.

Other recipes from this Episode

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

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

200g mud crab meat
220ml coconut cream
1 teaspoon Alpine pepper
tatsoi leaves

For the gnocchi:
1kg smoked kumara
1 egg
200-300g plain flour
1 teaspoon Red Desert Dust
½ teaspoon Fruit Spice

Method:

If the crab is live, place it into the freezer for 20 minutes to kill it. Scrub it clean in running water. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil (enough to cover the crab and some) and put the crab in to cook timing 10 minutes from when the water comes back to a boil. Remove the crab and cool it down in cold water.

Break the shell and remove the meat. You could put all the trimmings and shell (crack open the body) back into the boiling water and reduce it down, maybe adding some carrot and celery, onion with skins and pot herbs such as bay leaf, sage and thyme and keep cooking it down to concentrate to a really good crab soup after straining it. But we are just after the crab meat here.

For the gnocchi:
1. in a large cast iron or pottery pot with a well-fitting lid, place some damp paperbark (you can use off-cuts for this); place in your kumara which you could cut into large sections if you have plenty of time or smaller pieces if you have less
2. fit the lid and put the pot over medium heat for 25-45 minutes or until the kumara is soft; try not to open the pot for at least 20 minutes as it will fill with smoke and this is when the kumara is cooking most and picking up its flavour; remove the kumara once it’s done and a knife passes easily into the largest piece
3. ¾ fill a large saucepan with water (make sure your pot is big enough for all of your gnocchi to fit into), salt the water and bring to the boil
4. mash the smoked kumara, skin and all, either by hand or in a food processor
5. use a mixer with a paddle fitted and add the kumara, egg, the spices and 200g of the flour
6. turn the mixer to a low setting operate until the mixture starts to form a ball, stop the mixer and check the wetness, if it sticks to your fingers add more flour until it just doesn’t
7. tip the mix out onto a floured bench top
8. divide the mixture into 4 equal sausage like shapes, roll it out until you get the required thickness you like, (usually about as thick as a breakfast sausage is good); cut the gnocchi into 2.5cm pieces, use a fork to add a texture to the tops and place on a floured plate until you’re ready to cook them
9. warm the coconut cream in a small saucepan and add the Alpine pepper once it is hot but not boiling (just heat to a very gentle simmer and remove from heat); leave the spice to infuse
10. transfer the gnocchi to the boiling water and stir once; when the gnocchi floats to the surface remove them to a large bowl; drizzle some oil over them and toss lightly to stop them sticking together – you could use an infused olive oil here too say, Smokey fried garlic, Wild Thai twist or Garlic and Gumleaf in the Yarras Olive oil range but consider leaving out the Red Desert Dust so the flavours don’t battle

Styling
1. Try and get hold of plates that look funky, unusual shapes look good
2. a good trick is to use hot plates, as it not only keeps the food warm but as soon as the coconut sauce hits the plate the aroma will fill the room
3. place the gnocchi in the centre of the plate
4. lay the crab meat on top
5. drizzle plenty of the Alpine pepper coconut cream around the plate and serve extra in side dishes
6. to finish, scatter a few tatsoi leaves over the dish for more colour and freshness and maybe include some toasted macadamia nut pieces or pine nuts which can add what Vic calls
“textural crunch” to complete the dish

Dining Downunder Cookbook

This Australian recipe of Mud crab and smoked kumara gnocchi 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: Australia Day on Sydney Harbour

Recipe By: Mark McCluskey

Some tips that will make this dish easier are; use an electric mixer with a paddle; cook one piece to test the consistency before you roll them all out; and use a piping bag to shape the gnocchi if you’re making lots (they freeze well too).

Other recipes from this Episode

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

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

4×200g lamb loin, boneless and trimmed of sinew
8 asparagus spears
12 semi dried tomatoes
200g English spinach
½ tablespoon Australian olive oil
½ tablespoon butter
100g Bush Tomato Chutney

For the sauce

500ml beef stock
2ml vegetable oil
2 teaspoons Alpine Pepper

Method

1. In a pan, add a little oil slowly sauté the Alpine Pepper for a minute; add in the stock and reduce by 80%
2. Then, with a clean steel or small knife make a hole in the centre of the lamb; stuff in the semi dried tomatoes and carefully thread through the asparagus spears
4. using butchers twine, tie up the lamb to stop it moving out of shape during cooking
5. on a hot grill or BBQ seal the lamb, fat side first; the lamb is best served medium rare, check the doneness
6. remove from the grill, dust with Red Desert Dust and allow to rest before cutting
7. in a small pot sauté the spinach with a little olive oil and butter

Styling

To serve, cut the lamb loins into three unequal pieces and stand these rounds upright. Garnish with tomato chutney and spinach and drizzle a little sauce around the lamb.

Dining Downunder Cookbook
This Australian recipe of Lamb Loin with English spinach semi dried tomatoes and bush tomato chutney 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: The Three Sisters and the Post Office Restaurant in Leura

Recipe By: Benjamin Christie

I really enjoy cooking with lamb in general, as I find it rather versatile for every situation from roasting, BBQ’ing, pan frying or wok tossing. During the week I take pleasure in slicing thinly then marinating some lamb fillet, then stir frying it with egg noodles, fresh crisp greens and a little Red Desert Dust. Be sure to sear the lamb quickly to ensure tenderness, add a little oyster and soy sauce to moisten the dish. Unlike weekdays when there is little time, Sunday evenings are generally reserved for the lamb roast, which for me, consists of stuffing whole cloves of garlic, rosemary and Oz Lemon into a leg of lamb and slowly roasting it to perfection and serving with a jus lie. A jus lie is simply made adding a little red wine to the roasting pan then reducing the liquid to produce a full flavoured sauce.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Alpine peppered venison on rainforest herb linguini
• Wattleseed and walnut bread and butter pudding with stewed fruits

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

1 kg kangaroo rump
2 tablespoons in total; of a dash of soy, a splash of mirin and a nip of umeboshi plum vinegar
¼ teaspoon Alpine Pepper
¼ teaspoon aniseed myrtle (optional)
375ml white balsamic
300g fresh ricotta
1 teaspoon Red Desert Dust
1 small bunch English spinach, washed and coarsely chopped
4 large pine mushrooms
100g baby rocket
8 slices proscuitto
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Method

1. Marinate the kangaroo in a mix with the added aniseed myrtle and Alpine Pepper for at least two hours (the longer you marinate it, the better)
2. pour the white balsamic into a saucepan and reduce it down to a thick syrup
2. mix the ricotta with the spinach and Red Desert Dust and fill the mushrooms
3. place the mushrooms in a moderate oven (180°C or 375°F) until they become tender
4. panfry the roo to medium rare, about 8-10 minutes on a medium heat; remove the meat from the pan and rest it in a warm spot for 10 minutes before slicing it
6. rub the proscuitto with brown sugar and panfry until golden brown

Styling

Use a white plate for this dish. Place the mushrooms slightly off centre on each plate and pile the rocket to the side. Slice the roo across the grain of the meat and place the slices, just overlapping, on top of the rocket. Drizzle the plate with the reduced balsamic and finish with the crispy proscuitto.

Dining Downunder Cookbook
This Australian recipe of Kangaroo rump with ricotta filled pine mushrooms and rocket 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: Mark McCluskey

What really needs to be said about kangaroo as an environmentally appropriate, ecologically sustainable alternative? And this low fat, tender, high iron, delicious meat is so good, it’s on our National Coat of Arms.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Baked Illawarra plum cheesecake
• Braised veal shank with native mint drizzled pink eye potatoes

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: 6

Difficulty:
Ingredients

6 boneless veal shanks
12 pink eye potatoes
2 turnips
120g smoked speck or ham
1 Paperbark Roll
Alpine Pepper
2 litres beef or veal stock

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 150°C
2. heat the stock in a deep roasting tray
3. lay out 6 sheets of paperbark on the bench fibrous side down
5. lay the shank in the center and season with Alpine Pepper
6. cut the turnips into fingers and speck into strips and lay in the center of the shank
7. roll up like a Swiss roll, and tie the ends of the bark and along its length so that it retains its shape
8. place the shanks in the liquid and place in the oven for about 2 hours
9. the best way to test if the shanks are cooked is to pinch them if they feel a little soft they are cooked
10. steam the potatoes
11. infuse some olive oil with native mint the correct ratio is 1 tsp. to 250ml of light olive oil
12. smash the potatoes and drizzle with the mint oil salt and alpine pepper
13. when the shanks have been in the oven for 1½ hours, place the potatoes in too
14. when the shanks are cooked remove them and the potatoes from the tray and rest the meat
15. reduce the stock by half and adjust the seasoning; never add seasoning before you reduce as will concentrate the flavour as it reduces and will get too strong
16. remove the shanks from the paper bark and slice in half

Styling

Arrange the potatoes on the plate with the veal shank nearby and finish with the reduced stock.

Dining Downunder Cookbook
This Australian recipe of Braised veal shank with native mint drizzled pink eye potatoes 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: Swiss Grand at Bondi Beach Sydney

Recipe By: Mark McCluskey

The slow wet cooking really does the trick in tenderizing the veal and it’s great with the Alpine Pepper and subtle flavour from the paperbark.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Baked Illawarra plum cheesecake
• Kangaroo striploin tartlet with sweet potato and bush tomato jus

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

4×100g chicken breast
1 teaspoon Wildfire Spice
Yarras Grove olive oil, as needed
3 cobs sweet corn
1 chilli, chopped
1 teaspoon minced Buderim ginger
2 litre chicken stock
200g polenta
100ml coconut cream
seasoning to taste
100g emu proscuitto

Method

1. Marinate the chicken breast in Wildfire Spice and olive oil
2. Remove the corn from the husk and rub with olive oil; BBQ until tender
3. Add some oil to a pan and briefly fry the ginger and chilli; add the chicken stock and bring to the boil
4. Add the polenta, chicken and coconut cream and simmer for 5 minutes
5. Remove the corn kernels from the cob and add them to the soup; simmer for I minute more

Styling

To four medium sized soup plates, divide up the broth. Garnish each with some watercress and finish with the emu proscuitto

Notes
Obviously, any proscuitto can be used, pan-fried to crispness for that all-important textural crunch!

Dining Downunder Cookbook
This Australian recipe of Braised chicken in a sweet corn and polenta broth 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: Banjo Patterson’s Restaurant on the Parramatta River

Recipe By: Mark McCluskey

Be bold with your flavours here. The Wildfire Spice adds almost pizza notes but you can get smokey flavours from the BBQ or crank up the chilli, if you like it hot! Also, any prosciutto can be used, pan-fried to crispness for what Vic calls that all-important, “textural crunch!”

Other recipes from this Episode

• Boomerang trifle with lemon ironwood syrup, wild fruit jelly and Fruit Spice
• Ribeye steak with broccolini, shitake mushrooms and wattleseed jus

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

6 desiree potatoes
1 can of sliced beetroot
1kg lamb mince
1 teaspoon Wildfire Spice
1 teaspoon Alpine Pepper
2 egg yolks
¼ cup flour
oil for frying
2 Spanish onions, finely sliced
a generous pinch of Outback Salt
¼ bottle of beer (optional) or some water
1 loaf wattleseed and walnut bread
150g bacon or proscuitto
1 fresh pineapple, peeled and thinly sliced (2 slices per serve)
2 sweet vine ripened tomatoes
shredded lettuce of your choice
100ml Mountain Pepper BBQ Sauce

Method

1. cut the washed desirée potatoes into thick chunky chips and preheat hotplate or frying pan.
2. heat sunflower oil to 190°C/375°F, and lower the chips into the oil and fry for five to six minutes, until soft but not browned, then remove and allow to cool.
3. combine the lamb mince, Alpine Pepper, egg yolks, flour and beer. Mix well.
4. form the mince mix into patties and cook on hotplate or frying pan. Cook pattie to desired doneness.
5. also begin to fry the bacon, the pineapple slices and the Spanish onions on the hotplate.
6. slice the tomatoes and toast the wattleseed and walnut bread
7. remove the pattie, pineapple, bacon and Spanish onions from the grill
8. heat the oil up to 200°C/400°F, then return the chips to the oil for two to three minutes. Remove and drain well, season with seasalt and Wildfire Spice.
9. construct the pattie on the wattleseed and walnut toasted bread, then bacon, onions, pineapple, tomatoes and shredded lettuce. Add a little Mountain Pepper BBQ sauce on top and place the other piece of wattleseed and walnut toasted bread as a sandwich.

Styling

Serve the Aussie Burger with chips on a plate.

Dining Downunder Cookbook
This Australian recipe of Aussie burger and chips 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: Mark McCluskey

Add things like melted cheese, fried eggs and chopped chilli. To go a bit more Mediterranean; add a little mint to the lamb, use thin and crispy proscuitto, toast Turkish bread and spread it with bush tomato chutney, then add crispy, fried or baked haloumi cheese.

Other recipes from this Episode

• Polenta and Lemon Aspen cake with sugar bag and Wild Rosella Cream
• 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