Our family opted for an Aussie-themed Christmas Day lunch this year, and the long, long table for 30+ folk looked absolutely resplendent decked with trailing garlands of gum leaves, bon bons made with a gum-leaf motif paper, and even a couple of Aussie legend look-a-likes in costume! How did I miss that email invitation to \u201cdress up\u201d?<\/p>\n
In just a blink in the searing summer sun, we\u2019re about to see the dawning of Australia Day for 2019. While conversations abound in regard to the \u2018celebrating\u2019 of the first landing of the English on these shores, one thing is for sure, we do enjoy making it a day of catching up with friends and family in a less frenetic pace than Christmas Day.<\/p>\n
For many it marks the end of the summer holidays, with school terms looming and back-to-work routines coming to mind.<\/p>\n
My offering as part of the Christmas Day lunch was kangaroo \u2013 served as bite-sized canap\u00e9s. I\u2019ll admit some were a little shy in trying for the first time a meat that is not served often enough in my opinion. But the response was very much in the affirmative, and I\u2019m hoping (not hopping!) that more and more people will regularly include kangaroo in their meals. We talk a lot about sustainability and I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll agree that kangaroo is truly a nutritious, sustainable ingredient that we should relish.<\/p>\n
As consumers I think we need to \u2018get over\u2019 the negative perception that by eating kangaroo meat we are somehow denigrating half our coat of arms. It makes perfect sense to me to utilise the product of culling kangaroos, as they do wreak havoc for farmers. When you think about it, for tens of thousands of years up to a couple of hundred years ago, kangaroo was the red meat of choice among diners in this country.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s only due to our perception in these past 200 years or so that we\u2019ve been reluctant to enjoy kangaroo. It is now readily
\navailable in the supermarket in various cuts, even as sausages! Kangaroo fillets are perfect for the barbecue as it is important to cook this lean meat quickly. I also really enjoyed a stir fry using onion, ginger, chilli, capsicums, mushrooms, bean shoots and kangaroo \u2013 finished with a little oyster sauce and fresh coriander it is truly delicious.<\/p>\n
For the canap\u00e9s I baked small puff pastry tartlets to hold the caramelised onion and chutney, but you could take a short cut by using 1cm slices of baguette, or other small bread rolls – cut down to \u2018bite sized\u2019 pieces, and brushing these with a little oil and toasting them instead of bothering with the pastry.<\/p>\n
For a garnish I used bower spinach leaves greens. One treasured gift to me this Christmas was a book \u2013 Australian Bush Superfoods, by Lily Alice and Thomas Quinn. It\u2019s an A-Z of native fruits, flowers, nuts with short backgrounds notes on
\neach ingredient, together with delightful illustrations for ease of identification, and beaut recipes that are of the moment.<\/p>\n
If you are like me and live by the coast you will find this plant growing practically everywhere. Bower spinach and warrigal greens are kind of related and can be used in cooking in similar ways. For the early explorers both were a great source of
\nvitamin C, in the battle against scurvy; they were considered a relative of traditional English spinach as they found their way baked into pies or served as a vegetable accompaniment.<\/p>\n
So, do make a mental note to include kangaroo on your regular shopping lists, not just to mark Australia Day. You\u2019ll be hopping around \u2013 bounding with rude health \u2013 in what is likely another busy year ahead for you in our beautiful and amazing country. Celebrate out loud!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our family opted for an Aussie-themed Christmas Day lunch this year, and the long, long table for 30+ folk looked absolutely resplendent decked with trailing garlands of gum leaves, bon bons made with a gum-leaf motif paper, and even a couple of Aussie legend look-a-likes in costume! How did I miss that email invitation to […]<\/p>\n