Starter of paperback smoked duck breast with beetroot, orange and rocket salad and an orange and wattleseed glaze.
By Emily-Ann Elliott
When the first European settlers arrived on Australia‘s Fraser Island they had a thing or two to learn from the locals. Not least, which plants were poisonous and which could be used for cooking, as well as which ones would provide a cure for an illness and which ones were likely to make them more sick.
Nowadays at the island’s Kingfisher Bay Resort the chefs are still using the bush foods in their cuisine. Before sitting down for my meal I took part in a Bush Tucker Talk and Taste session where I had the opportunity to sample many of the edible plants and berries which grow on the island. While Ranger Nick explained where the foods could be found, one of the restaurant’s chefs showed us how to use them in cooking, often whipping up a quick sauce for us to try with a shrimp or a piece of crocodile or kangaroo meat.
Main course of seared kangaroo loin with pumpkin puree, onion rosella jam, lilly pillies, wilted greens and red wine jus.
They included nuts, such as the Bunya Nut which has a sweet nutty taste and is often used as a meat substitute due to its high levels of protein and the well-known Macadamia Nut, which is now exported all over the world. There were also berries like the Bush Tomato, which although related to the tomato family tastes of tamarillo and caramel and the Muntharry, which tastes similar to Granny Smith apples and is therefore often served with pork.
We were introduced to the Paper Bark plant, which as well as having many medicinal purposes, is used to wrap food in before cooking. The leaves from plants like Aniseed and Lemon Myrtle add subtle flavours to food and wattleseed produces a dry coffee-like flavour.
Dessert of trio of handcrafted bush tucker ice creams, wattleseed, rosella and aniseed myrtle.
Some of the tastiest bush tucker is the fruit which includes the deliciously sweet Illawarra Plum, often used in pies and sauces; the eye-wateringly sour Blue Quandongs, which consist of a thin layer of green flesh around a large stone and Finger Limes which are packed with tiny balls of tart flash.
After getting my taste buds around the various flavours I enjoyed a meal at the resort’s Seabelle Restaurant where I got the opportunity to see how the tastes were incorporated into everyday cooking instead of traditional European herbs.
Ranger Amelia explains how the paperbark is used to wrap food in before cooking.
My started was paperback smoked duck breast with beetroot, orange and rocket salad and an orange and wattleseed glaze. The duck was infused with flavour thanks to the paper bark and the glaze had a deliciously sweet caramel taste.
The Lemon Myrtle leaf.
The main course was my first chance to properly sample kangaroo, which is quickly becoming a more healthy alternative to beef. The seared kangaroo loin was accompanied by pumpkin puree, onion rosella jam, lilly pillies, wilted greens and red wine jus. The sweetness of the rosella and the tartness of the lilly pillies were the perfect accompaniment to the more mellow flavour of the pumpkin.
Blue Quandongs
For dessert I opted for the trio of handcrafted bush tucker ice creams, which perfectly captured the three distinctive bush flavours of wattleseed, rosella and aniseed myrtle. While the rosella was a sweet, fruity ice cream, the wattleseed had a drier, more coffee-like taste and the myrtle provided the faintest flavour of aniseed.
After years of eating mostly European seasonings it was so interesting to taste new flavours and to see how traditional recipes can be given a bush tucker twist.
NB. Kingfisher Bay Resort provided the meal as part of a media trip. However all views expressed are my own.
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About the Author
Emily-Ann Elliott is a journalist who gave it all up for a life on the road, doing 30 things she’s always wanted to do before she turns 30. Follow her adventures at em30b430.blogspot.com or @em30b430.
