Happy Australia Day! Here at the Urban List we believe that is it important to recognise the national custodians of this land as well as celebrating the rich and diverse culture of our great country. So, we've teamed up with Stokehouse City chef, Ollie Hansford, who has created a recipe for us to share that showcases our country's natural bounty.
Today we're celebrating our nation's heritage with a beautiful Australian-inspired dish - but more importantly, giving you a how-to guide to impress your Aussie Day guests!
Ollie told us that this recipe is a 'celebration of Australia and what it has to offer' - and as you'll see the ingredients are spot on. "There is an untapped larder bursting with amazing native ingredients", Ollie said, "and what better day to showcase Australia’s pantry than on Australia Day. That's what Australia Day means to me – a celebration of heritage."
Good luck, and god speed! And if all else fails folks, just throw a shrimp on the barbie.
Duck – Saltbush –Lillypillies– Bunya Nut – Kohlrabi
Ingredients: (servesx2)
1x Free-Range Duck Breast
1x Bunch Saltbush
Duck Sauce
1x Kohlrabi
For the Lillypillies:-
30g Lillypillies
30g Sugar
30ml White Wine Vinegar
30ml Water
10g Mustard Seeds
Sprig of Thyme
For the Bunya Nut Cracker:-
200g Bunya Nuts
2x Free Range Eggs
2tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch of Dried Thyme
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pepper Berry (Optional)
Method: Duck
I make a quick and simple brine for the duck breasts by mixing thyme, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf, sugar, salt and small pinch of ginger in a bowl and massaging into the duck breasts. Then allow them to marinate, season for 1 hour before washing off. This process is a way of seasoning the duck breast and imparting a lot of flavour inside the duck breast meat. After an hour wash the breasts off under cold running water and pat dry.
Lillypillies
Add all of the ingredients to a sauce pan apart from the lillypillies and bring to a simmer. Once hot enough, pour this liquid through a sieve over the lillypillies and leave to steep/infuse for 12-24hours.
Bunya Nut Cracker
Blitz the bunya nuts until you get a powder like consistency then add all the remaining ingredients and mix well to form a dough. Refrigerate for 12 hours. Once chilled and relaxed roll out to half cm thick between two sheets of parchment paper and then bake in the oven at 180’ for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooked leave to chill.
Kohlrabi
Slice the bottom off the whole kohlrabi and place on a steamer tray. Then in a pan lined with tin foil add some smoking chips and cover with more tin foil or a pan. After about 5-7minutes the smoking chips would have begun to catch and start smoking. At this stage transfer them to a large gastro tray and place the steamer tray with the kohlrabi in on top and place in the oven at 180 for 20-30minutes. Until just a little soft. Then chill.
To Serve
Once the duck is cured and dried then place the breast in a cold pan, skin side down and place on a medium to low heat, to render the fat and get a nice crisp skin. Keep straining the fat from the pan. After about 10-15 minutes on a low heat (or until the majority of fat has been rendered) flip the breast over and cook for a further 5 minutes on the flesh side. Feel the breast to see if its cooked. It should feel firm but giving. Then allow to rest for a further 5-10minutes to let the muscle relax and the juices flow.
Slice the Kohlrabi very thinly on either a meat slicer, mandolin, or with a sharp knife to create thin rounds of hot smoked kohlrabi discs. Slice the duck breast in half and present cut side up. Scrunch the kohlrabi sheets together to create rustic ribbon shapes and place next to the breast. Spoon over the warmed lillypillies, dress with picked raw saltbush to give an earthy taste. Then break up the bunya nut cracker and arrange around the rest of the garnish.
You can sprinkle some roasted and powdered pepper berry around to add a bit of heat to the dish, then spoon over some duck sauce.
NOTE: If you try out this recipe, remember to take an amazing Instagram shot and tag #urbanlisted so we can see this magical creation come to life in kitchens all over Australia! If you're looking for something a lil' easier, here is our epic pie recipe...
Image credit: Stokehouse City