Can it be Monday already?! Why I believe it is.
While my blog was about all things chocolate and cake over the weekend, I was down in Melbourne soaking up the sunshine with my family and in-laws.
Between BBQs with my little brother and his girlfriend...
A trip to the Australian Open...
Catching up with my best friend from High School...
And little brothers!
Enjoying a picnic on the lawn...
Tennis...
Tennis...
And more ...
Tennis – there was barely a moment to spare the whole weekend.
There was, however, time for a wonderful brunch on our final morning…
Dukkah eggs with mushrooms and spinach.
Served atop GF toast!
The whole weekend was a lot of fun, hot weather fun. Today, however, it was back to reality when my alarm clock signalled the start of a new working week.
Luckily this is really a "short week" with the celebration of Australia Day on Wednesday and, of course, the associated public holiday!
And, rather than limit my celebrations to Australia Day only, I have decided to call this week..
Taste of Australia Week!
Australian "food" is certainly difficult to define, perhaps not only due to our multi-cultural society, but also due to the availability of so many wonderful products and access to a variety of cuisines.
While certain films and stereotypes will have you believe that Australian food is all about sausages, beer, prawns and meat pies, I want to share with you some of my favourite Australian recipes. I also want to share with you how you can be creative with these recipes, and even adapt them to be allergy friendly.
So, over the next week, sit back and enjoy the BBB showcase of all things Australia. Starting with tonight!
Taste of Australia Week – Part 1
Our meal this evening is not one that features very regularly on our dinner menu...
Kangaroo and macadamia salad.
I must admit that I am in two minds about eating kangaroo. One the one hand they are on our national coat of arms and a kangaroo named Skippy was once a favourite family TV show. On the other hand, they provide a super lean meat, that is high in protein and low in saturated fat. Not to mention the wealth of opinion that suggests the environmental impact of kangaroos is far less than farming sheep or cattle, and the inevitability that kangaroo meat is locally 'grown' and supplied.
Whatever the reason may be, the consumption of kangaroo meat in Australia seems to have increased in recent times, and it is not unusual to see it on the menu at both fancy and casual dining establishments alike.
Tonight I wanted to use kangaroo meat in a way that would suit the warm Australian summer. Therefore, a warm kangaroo salad would seem the logical choice.
Marinaded in macadamia oil and an Australian bush spice blend.
Grilled.
Sliced and served atop a salad….
(Spinach, mesculin, cucumber, celery and yellow capsicum)
Finished with a sprinkle of another Australian favourite….
Macadamia nuts!
Finished with a simple dressing of macadamia oil, white wine vinegar, mustard and honey.
If kangaroo is overcooked, it will become tough and dry, and downright horrible. But not tonight! Mr BBB cooked the kangaroo fillet beautifully, and it remained rich and tender.
I particularly loved the ‘bush spices’ which gave the fillet a nice kick.
A protein packed start to the Taste of Australia Week!
What about you? Do you do roo?
Happy Baking :)
Posts
I love kangaroo :)
ReplyDeleteActually we even had some tonight - in a stir fry of all things :)
Sigh. I really want to like kangaroo. I really, really do. But I just......don't. At all. :(
ReplyDeleteAh well. My love for macadamia nuts certainly makes up for it :D
I like kangaroo too - don't like the sausages though :) I make a great kangaroo lasagna - I'll have to blog about it sometime :)
ReplyDeleteThe eco butcher at Belconen markets has emu and kangaroo sausages. Kangaroo is a great meat and certainly needs to be promoted more commercially, good on you for pushing the Roo!
ReplyDeleteSo awesome you went to the open! What matches did you see?
ReplyDeleteYep, my family has been eating kangaroo for years, long before it started to become popular. I don't eat much meat but I'm happy to eat it for the environmental reasons, plus I like the taste better than other red meats. Love how you've paired it with Aussie macadamias too!
ReplyDeleteI'm so jealous of your weather right now, btw!
ReplyDeleteAnd, heck no, no roo here!
This is actually really helpful for me since I'm leaving for Australia in 3 weeks!! :)
ReplyDeleteI can't say that I would eat kangaroo, but I think the husband did when he went to Australia. He's really adventurous with food, and willing to try everything once.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I could do the roo even if I still ate meat. I did eat ostrich once though.
ReplyDeleteFUN!! My bf would be so jealous you're there!
ReplyDeleteI guess eating kangaroo would be like eating deer here in the US. All I could think of though was...that's kangaroo!! That's just not right!! But again, different countries, different cultures. Looks good though!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that you could eat a kangaroo! I tried ostrich jerkey in my pre-vegetarian days. I don't think it tasted any different than beef!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a fab. weekend. I don't eat roo (or any other meat) but DH will eat it (and Amy did before she became a vegetarian). He mainly started because it's one of the best meats to eat environmentally and you can't get any more free range than a roo who has lived it's whole live free and should suffer from no stress at the end.
ReplyDeleteOh meant to add they def. preferred the marinated roo.
ReplyDeleteoh wow, i didn't know you ate kangaroo :) i'm loving the looks of your brunch dish, yum... glad you had a good weekend at the aussie open!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great weekend in Melbourne! I am loving the tennis at the moment. I can't say I have had too much kangaroo. I like a bit of fat on my meats..
ReplyDeleteI have actually had kangaroo (it was served at a wild game dinner here in the US, even!). I thought it was a really delicious meat. I totally agree, you definitely don't want to overcook it, and your looked perfect. A beautiful dish!
ReplyDeleteThe Australian Open looks like it is a lot of fun. Great pictures!
my mouth is watering at the sight of those eggs, mushroom and spinach on toast.....
ReplyDeleteforgot to say - I love roo!
ReplyDeleteGreat series Lisa! And you included two oh so Aussie things here! :D Hehe did you see when Kim C quizzed Todd W about his text message-that was hilarious! :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, love 'roo' :) Your so right Lisa, Aussie food is hard to describe because of its huge variety & cultural influences, but you've done a great job with this one.
ReplyDelete