• News
  • Sports
  • Finance
  • Lifestyle
  • Entertainment
  • Video
  • Travel
  • Cars
  • eBay
  • Jobs
  • Dating
  • Property
  • More sites
Make ninemsn your Homepage
Hot Topics:   Miranda Kerr Cudo: 50% Movie World Passes!
  • Mobile
  • Messenger
  • Hotmail
recipes
  • Recipes
    Ingredients
    Avocado
    Banana
    Beef
    Chicken
    Lamb
    Great rice recipes
    Seafood
    Search all recipes
    Cuisines
    Asian
    French
    Greek
    Indian
    Italian
    Spanish
    Thai
    Cooking inspiration
    Categories
    Barbecue
    Budget
    Easy
    Coles & Curtis
    Healthy
    Kids
    Less than 15 mins
    Food in pictures
  • How to
    Tips & tricks
    Expert advice
    Cooking tips
    Alana's blog
    Pink Leopard blog
    French Connection
     
    How to bake bread
    Making fresh pasta
    Pancake perfection
    More tips
  • Family
    Everyday recipes
    Coles & Curtis
    Cooking with kids
    recipes+
    Delicious desserts
    Easy soups
    More family meals

    Great family recipes

  • Healthy eating
    Healthy recipes
    News & features
    Healthy choices
    Special diets
     
    Low fat recipes
    Vegetarian recipes
    Low carb recipes
    Aussie food
    More healthy tips
  • Entertaining
    Party planning
    Special occasions
    Wine & cocktails
    Summer entertaining
    Grill a celebrity
    Desserts to impress
    More entertaining

    Great summer punches

  • Cooking videos
  • Table talk

News and features

NINEMSN FOOD > Healthy recipes > News and features

Celebrating our Aussie classics

Monday, September 22, 2008
Celebrating our Aussie classics
More about Healthy eating:
  • Avocados can keep you young
  • Are chocolate supplies about to run out?
  • Eat spicy foods to improve heart health
  • Fridge magnet that lets you order pizza by pressing a button
  • How to stay slim: eat chocolate more often
Topics:
Healthy eatingModern Australian food

Who doesn't love those traditional dishes Mum used to make, like roast lamb with mint sauce, cottage pie or macaroni cheese? In honour of our national holiday, Recipe Finder takes a trip down memory lane to celebrate some of the all-time family classics that have featured on many an Australian dinner table.

Check out our mouth-watering selection of Aussie classics here.

Aussie classic essentials:

Rack 'em up

Roasting is one of the easiest cooking methods for a leg of lamb but there are a few tricks which will help make it perfect. Begin by preheating the oven and determine the weight of the roast. Use a rack to raise the roast in the baking dish and help the heat circulate around, so that it browns evenly. Without a rack the base of the roast may stew. Wider-runged racks give the best results. Be sure to rest the roast, loosely covered with foil to keep warm, for about 10-15 minutes before carving. This gives the juices in the meat a chance to redistribute, giving a more tender and moister result.

Australian-made meat

Kangaroo is a succulent, versatile, lean red meat. It is well known throughout the world as a high quality game meat, partly due to the very low fat content. The wide variety of cuts available means that many different cooking methods can be used. Prime cuts, such as fillet or rump, can be pan-fried, barbecued or roasted on a high heat to flavour and seal the meat, and then rested before serving. It is best served rare. Lesser cuts respond well to long, slow cooking, or are often minced. Do not add salt to kangaroo prior to cooking as it will draw out the juices and prevent browning.

Gravy, baby

Aussies love their thickened gravy (the French prefer to reduce the pan juices with stock or wine over heat to make a thin or clear gravy with perhaps just a little butter swirled in). For the best thickened gravy, first place a sliced onion under the meat or chicken while roasting to add colour and flavour to the resulting juices. While the roast is resting, slowly pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from pan, leaving the sediment undisturbed. Off the heat, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour into the pan and stir well with the fat. Place over low heat, stirring until mixture is browned. Slowly add 1-1 ½ cups cooled stock (if hot, lumps may form) or vegetable water, stirring until smooth. When it comes to the boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve piping hot. Strain only if necessary.

White hot

A good white sauce can add variety and interest to everyday meals. It is based on a "roux" of melted butter mixed with flour. The milk can be used plain or infused first with a few slices of onion, a few peppercorns and a bay leaf to make a bechamel sauce. For a smooth sauce and to prevent lumps forming, the roux must be a different temperature to the liquid added. If it is hot, the liquid should be cooled or cold, if the roux is cooled then the liquid can be hot. Stir constantly until thickened and smooth, and add grated cheese for mornay sauce or chopped parsley for parsley sauce at the end, stirring until just melted. Try flavouring with dijon mustard or grated nutmeg. Remember, a good white sauce should have body but not be so thick that it sits heavily on the food.

Mighty vegemite

Vegemite dates back to 1922 when a young chemist was hired to develop a spread from one of the richest known natural sources of the vitamin B group – brewer's yeast. The original recipe has remained virtually unchanged for 80 years and the product has become an Australian icon. Vegemite may have started as a spread for toast but the unique flavour allows us to use it in many different recipes, such as gravies, marinades, casseroles and stews, savoury pastries and even dips.

YOUR SAY: Are there any Aussie classics we missed from our slideshow? What's your favourite traditional dish? Tell us below.

Also in this section

Fatty foods hit waistline 'within hours'Fatty foods hit waistline 'within hours' The real reason why you can always make room for dessertThe real reason why you can always make room for dessert Avocados can keep you youngAvocados can keep you young How ice-cream headaches can lead to migraine cureHow ice-cream headaches can lead to migraine cure

More inspiration

Fatty foods hit waistline 'within hours'Fatty foods hit waistline 'within hours'Fat from foods can end up on our waistlines within three hours of eating, according to new research. La Grillade's corn-fed chicken with thymeLa Grillade's corn-fed chicken with thymeResiding in the leafy suburb of Crows nest in Sydney's lower north shore, La Grillade has been restored to its former glory but the deft and professional touch... Seafood pieSeafood pieI was chatting to my friend over a glass of wine about fish pies. She makes a cracking fish pie and I mentioned that I was going to try a seafood pie with prawn tails poking out the top.
Recipe finder
Advanced search options
Recipes A-Z Meal maker
advertisement
Get great recipes on your mobile wherever you are.

Follow us on twitter @ninemsnFood

Curtis Stone: how to make vegetable and beef pastiesCurtis Stone: how to make vegetable and beef pasties Curtis Stone: how to devein a prawnCurtis Stone: how to devein a prawn Curtis Stone: how to create a great stirfryCurtis Stone: how to create a great stirfry
 
Home grown: the easiest vegies to cultivateHome grown: the easiest vegies to cultivate Savoury sodas and meat water: a collection of the most unusual drinksSavoury sodas and meat water: a collection of the most unusual drinks
Awkward celebrity food commercialsAwkward celebrity food commercials
World's weirdest hamburgersWorld's weirdest hamburgers

Recipes How to Family Healthy eating Entertaining Cooking videos Table talk
Gourmet TravellerGourmet TravellerWin a $26K trip to Tahiti and LA!
  • News
  • Sports
  • Finance
  • Lifestyle
  • Entertainment
  • Video
  • Travel
  • Cars
  • eBay
  • Jobs
  • Dating
  • Property
  • More sites
  • About ninemsn
  • Careers at ninemsn
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
Other ninemsn businesses: iSelect RateCity msnNZ Cudo
© 1997-2012 ninemsn Pty Ltd - All rights reserved