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A luscious combination of eggplant simmered until it's mouth-meltingly soft then served with a rich Japanese-spiced sauce and slivers of grassy, refreshing saltbush.
Braised eggplant with saltbush. Source: Sharyn Cairns
Crunchy little wattleseeds have a flavour somewhere between coffee and chocolate, and when combined with the earthy aroma of fresh thyme in this damper, you'll be transported straight to the Australian outback.
Wattleseed and thyme damper. Source: Sharyn Cairns
Relive fond childhood memories of golden pineapple fritters, but in their grown-up version: pineapple is poached in a spiced syrup, and served with a sugar-salt sprinkle laced with aromatic native pepper berries.
Pineapple fritters with pepperberry sugar. Source: Benito Martin
If you're a fan of all things syrupy and pastry then Mark Olive's baklava rendition is a must. He adds his signature twist to this classic Levantine sweet, with the use of macadamia nuts, lemon myrtle in the cake and lemon aspen in the syrup.
Macadamia baklava Source: On Country Kitchen
Add an Australian twist to your BBQ-chicken repertoire with this straightforward recipe: make a rub of dried spices, lemon and saltbush, marinate, then grill. If you can't get dried saltbush leaves, bay leaves can be used as a substitute.
Butterflied saltbush chook with charred veg. Source: Dan Churchill and Hayden Quinn, Simon & Schuster Australia
Quandong is a fruit in the sandalwood family, with a sweet and tangy citrusy flavour that works perfectly in baking, preserves and sauces. This jam combines it with cherry tomatoes, lemongrass, chilli, coriander for a sweet and savoury combination that would work well with fish or meat.
Crispy-skinned butterfish with quandong jam. Source: Matty Roberts, Andy and Ben Eat Australia
Roasted macadamias bring nutty creaminess to this dish that covers all textures and flavours: salty parmesan, sweet charred carrots, lemony sorrel and a herby mustard dressing.
Charred carrot salad with sorrel, macadamia and herb vinaigrette. Source: Andy and Ben Eat Australia, Food Network
Rosey quince gets an Indigenous Australian flavour makeover by poaching them in a heavily lemon myrtle-laced syrup.
Quince and lemon myrtle syrup cake. Source: Alan Benson
Purslane - or pigweed - may be more commonly regarded as a weed, but its succulent-like leaves are used in raw and cooked like other greens spinach and have a lemony and slightly peppery flavour. Here, raw purslane is blended with yoghurt for an Indigenous Australian-style tzatziki dip.
Purslane yoghurt dip. Source: The Weed Forager's Handbook
Warrigal greens, like native Australian spinach, are chopped and added to the scallop shells before chargrilling, adding a fresh little green burst to sweet scallops. The decorative butter they're served with is a simple concoction of softened butter blended with a heaping of tangy Davidson plum powder.
Seared scallops with warrigal greens. Source: Dan Freene
See you later salt and pepper squid and hello saltbush and mountain pepper squid. Same technique, but with an Indigenous Australian flavour.
Saltbush and mountain pepper squid. Source: China Squirrel
This quick and easy sweet dessert from Sharon Winsor, founder of Australia’s leading Indigenous premium native food supplier Indigiearth, showcases the native Australian ingredient, strawberry gum.
Source: Jiwon Kim
For a simple hack to create a native Australian-flavoured dessert, add a couple of tablespoons of wattleseeds to chocolate pud. Wattleseeds have a naturally chocolatey flavour, but with a hint of the distinct aroma of the Australian bush.
Chocolate and wattleseed self-saucing pudding. Source: Derek Swalwell
More ways with native flavours
Macadamia and mandarin cake with cinnamon syrup
