A Taste of the Pacific Rim

Australia's culinary traditions are diverse. The indigenous people created masterpieces using local seafood and freshwater fish, kangaroo, fruits, plants, nuts and berries and damper - unleavened bread baked among the coals of an open fire, which is still commonly eaten today. Some traditional foods spring from the British immigrants who descended on the country in 1836 - such delights as steak and kidney pie and syrup pudding are still handed down through families. But other peoples came to this large, abundant land: Italians, Greeks, Asians, South Africans and Germans to name but a few. They all brought their own cultures, foods and traditions with them, making Australia a wonderful amalgam of the world's cuisines. You'll find fusion food at its best here, along with some of the most memorable barbies ever!

Sydney Mixed Seafood Chowder

All seafood is fabulous around coastal Australia. You can, of course, substitute any fish that is available to you as long as you choose a varied selection. This is really a cheat version because I use raw mixed seafood cocktail as the base. You could buy all the different seafood separately, which would be fantastic.

Serves 4-6
Cooking time 1-2 hrs low
Serve with crusty bread

400 g/14 oz thawed frozen raw seafood cocktail
150 g/5 oz tuna steak, cubed
150 g/5 oz piece of cod loin or monkfish
25 g/1 oz/2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 carrot, very thinly sliced
1 celery stick, chopped
1 potato, diced
400 g/14 oz/large can of chopped tomatoes
15 ml/1 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
750 ml/1¼ pt/3 cups fish stock, made with 1 stock cube
150 ml/¼ pt/2/3 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
A few drops of Tabasco sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put all the seafood in the crock pot.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add all the vegetables and fry gently, stirring, for 5 minutes until they are softened but not browned.
Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, stock and wine. Bring to the boil, then pour over the seafood. Add the bay leaf, a few drops of Tabasco and some salt and pepper. Cover and cook on Low for 1-2 hours.
Discard the bay leaf and serve very hot with crusty bread.

Butterflied Squid in Chilli Sauce

As well as making a gorgeous al fresco lunch, this would also serve eight as a small starter. If you are lucky enough to find larger squid, prepare one per person in the same way and cook for 3-4 hours for a magnificent meal. Make sure you have plenty of crusty bread to hand to mop up all the lovely juices, which are far too good to waste!

Serves 4
Cooking time 2-3 hrs low
Serve with crusty bread and a crisp green salad

450 g/1 lb baby squid, cleaned and split open, tentacles chopped
60 ml/4 tbsp sunflower or peanut (groundnut) oil
2 red chillies, seeded and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
5 ml/1 tsp grated fresh root ginger
2.5 ml/½ tsp ground cumin
5 ml/1 tsp tamarind paste
90 ml/6 tbsp boiling water
5 ml/1 tsp light brown sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 ml/1 tsp chopped fresh basil
15 ml/1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Score the squid on the inside with a sharp knife in a criss-cross pattern. Lay the opened out squid in the crock pot.
Blend together all the remaining ingredients except the basil and parsley. Pour over the squid, cover and cook on Low for 2-3 hours.
Sprinkle with the chopped herbs and serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices and a crisp green salad.

Poached Salmon in Sparkling Wine and Cream Sauce

The slow cooker is the perfect receptacle for cooking fish as it just doesn't dry out. Use the rest of the Australian sparkling wine to drink chilled with your meal - though, as this dish serves four, you may well need to open a second bottle! You could use four small trout instead of salmon fillets, if you prefer.

Serves 4
Cooking time 1 hr low
Serve with baby new potatoes and mangetout (snow peas)

4 thick pieces of salmon fillet
120 ml/4 fl oz/½ cup Australian sparkling Chardonnay
15 ml/1 tbsp brandy
75 ml/5 tbsp water
1 bouquet garni sachet
5 white peppercorns
50 g/2 oz/¼ cup unsalted (sweet) butter
60 ml/4 tbsp double (heavy) cream
Salt
50 g/2 oz/small jar of red salmon caviare
A few stalks of flatleaf parsley

Place the fish in the crock pot. Place the wine, brandy, water, bouquet garni and peppercorns in a saucepan, bring to the boil, then pour over the fish. Cover and cook on Low for 1 hour.
Carefully pour off the cooking liquid into a saucepan. Cover the crock pot so the fish stays warm.
Boil the cooking liquid rapidly for 5 minutes until reduced and syrupy. Whisk in the butter, a little at a time, until the sauce is thickened and glossy. Whisk in the cream and season to taste with salt.
Transfer the fish to warm plates. Spoon a little sauce over each and top with the caviare. Garnish with parsley and serve hot with baby new potatoes and mangetout.

Mock Kangaroo Tail Stew in Beer

What could be more Australian? And yes, they do use kangaroo tail there - but oxtail works equally well! I like to think the dish has British origins and that the recipe was taken to Australia by the first immigrants, who had to adapt using kangaroo instead of the oxtail they had used back home. A flight of fancy, but it makes a nice story!

Serves 4
Cooking time 12-14 hrs low
Serve with mashed potatoes

30 ml/2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 onions, chopped
2 celery sticks, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced
2 turnips, cut into chunks
¼ pumpkin, peeled and flesh cut into chunks
4 potatoes, cut into quarters
1 kg/2¼ lb oxtail, chopped
45 ml/3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
450 ml/¾ pt/2 cups beef stock, made with 1 stock cube
300 ml/½ pt/1¼ cups lager
1 bay leaf
2.5 ml/½ tsp dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onions and celery and fry for 2 minutes. Transfer to the crock pot with a draining spoon. Add all the remaining vegetables to the pot.
Fry the oxtail in the frying pan on all sides to brown well. Transfer to the crock pot with a draining spoon.
Stir the flour into the juices in the pan, then blend in the stock and lager. Bring to the boil, stirring. Pour over the meat and add the bay leaf, thyme and some salt and pepper. Cover and cook on Low for 12-14 hours.
Discard the bay leaf. If preferred, lift out the pieces of oxtail, take all the meat off the bones and return the meat to the stew. Taste and re-season, if necessary. Stir and serve hot sprinkled with parsley and accompanied by mashed potatoes.

Yellow Creamy Coconut Chicken

This has its roots in Vietnam, where it is quite a fiery dish. Here the flavour is mild and subtle, perfect to enjoy with a chilled 'tinnie'! If you like spicier food, try adding one or two seeded and chopped fresh green chillies to the sauce; the result will be fabulous. For added elegance, you could sprinkle the dish with whole cashews instead of the chopped peanuts.

Serves 4
Cooking time 4-6 hrs low
Serve with plain boiled rice

30 ml/2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 bunch of spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
450 g/1 lb boned skinless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
10 ml/2 tsp ground turmeric
5 ml/1 tsp ground ginger
5 ml/1 tsp ground cumin
1 stalk of lemon grass, finely chopped
100 g/4 oz creamed coconut
300 ml/½ pt/1¼ cups water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
45 ml/3 tbsp single (light) cream
50 g/2 oz/½ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
A handful of torn fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves

Heat the oil in a pan, add the spring onions, garlic and chicken and fry, stirring, for 3 minutes. Tip into the crock pot.
Add the spices to the pan with the creamed coconut and water. Bring to the boil, stirring, until the coconut has melted. Tip over the chicken and season well. Cover and cook on Low for 4-6 hours.
Stir in the cream, taste and re-season, if necessary. Serve over rice, sprinkled with the chopped peanuts and torn coriander leaves.

Barbecued Sticky Lamb Spare Ribs

Slow cooking the ribs first before finishing them on the barbecue or under the grill makes them so meltingly tender that the meat simply falls off the bones when you eat them and removes every hint of fattiness. Take care not to burn them on the fierce heat of the coals, because they have a high sugar content.

Serves 4
Cooking time 4-6 hrs low
Serve with a mixed salad

1.25 kg/2½ lb whole breast of lamb
60 ml/4 tbsp red wine vinegar
45 ml/3 tbsp clear honey
30 ml/2 tbsp tomato ketchup (catsup)
15 ml/1 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
15 ml/1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
15 ml/1 tbsp soy sauce
A few drops of Tabasco sauce
1 garlic clove, crushed

Trim as much fat from the lamb as possible with a large, sharp knife, cutting between each bone to separate the breast into spare ribs.
Place the pieces in the crock pot and cover with boiling water. Add half the vinegar. Cover and cook on Low for 4-6 hours until really tender.
Mix together all the remaining ingredients, including the remaining vinegar, in a shallow dish. Drain the lamb, add to the dish and turn over each rib until they are well coated in the sauce.
Barbecue or grill (broil) for about 8 minutes, turning once or twice and basting occasionally, until stickily glazed and a rich dark brown. Serve with a mixed salad.

Aussie Barbecued Chicken Pot

This can either be served straight from the crock pot or thrown on the barbie at the end to crisp and brown. If finishing it over the coals, cook the chicken for about 1½ hours only, then transfer to the barbecue for about 15 minutes until cooked through and browned. If you cook it completely in the crock pot first, it may fall apart as it will be so tender.

Serves 4
Cooking time 4 hrs low
Serve with wild rice mix

4 chicken portions
1 garlic clove, crushed
Juice of ½ lemon
5 ml/1 tsp clear honey
10 ml/2 tsp tomato purée (paste)
1.5 ml/¼ tsp chilli powder
1.5 ml/½ tsp ground cumin
1 onion, very thinly sliced
2 carrots, coarsely grated
2 courgettes (zucchini), coarsely grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
120 ml/4 fl oz/½ cup cider or apple juice

Lay the chicken in a shallow dish. Mix together the garlic, lemon juice, honey, tomato purée, chilli and cumin and smear all over the chicken. Leave in a cool place to marinate for at least 2 hours.
Put the onion, carrots and courgettes in the crock pot, season well, then top with the chicken. Bring the apple juice to the boil in a pan, then pour into the pot. Cook on Low for 4 hours.
Serve the vegetables and chicken on a bed of wild rice mix with the juices spooned over.

Pâté-stuffed Pot Roast Chicken

This is a historic dish! It is believed to have been cooked by some of the first free British settlers (as opposed to the convicts transported to Australia) in the 1800s. But it's likely that it was a meal for governors and other high-ranking officials rather than the ordinary folk, who were, on the whole, fairly poor.

Serves 4
Cooking time 6-8 hrs low
Serve with new potatoes

1.25 kg/2½ lb oven-ready chicken
60 ml/4 tbsp wholemeal breadcrumbs
100 g/4 oz smooth liver pâté with garlic
45 ml/3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
40 g/1½ oz/3 tbsp butter
100 g/4 oz lardons (diced bacon)
2 carrots, diced
2 leeks, sliced
450 g/1 lb baby new potatoes, scrubbed but left whole
300 ml/½ pt/1¼ cups boiling
chicken stock, made with 1 stock cube
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
30 ml/2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
30 ml/2 tbsp water

Wipe the chicken inside and out with kitchen paper (paper towels) and pull off any fat just inside the body cavity.
Mash the breadcrumbs with the pâté and 30 ml/2 tbsp of the parsley. Use to stuff the neck end of the bird and secure with cocktail sticks (toothpicks).
Melt the butter or margarine in a pan, add the chicken and turn to brown all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the lardons, carrots, leeks and potatoes to the pan and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Tip into the crock pot and place the chicken on top. Add the stock and some seasoning. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours.
Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a carving dish. Spoon off any excess fat from the cooking juices. Blend the cornflour with the water in a saucepan and pour in the cooking juices. Bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Taste and re-season.
Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables and sauce and some new potatoes.

Pheasant with Baby Beetroot and Mushrooms

Pheasant is farmed extensively in Australia, so you'll often find it on the menu. This is modern fusion food, not traditional Aussie fare, but it incorporates fine ingredients producing a fabulously clever blend of flavours to create a very elegant dish indeed. Use two small hen pheasants, halved, if you are big eaters.

Serves 4
Cooking time 5-6 hrs low
Serve with fluffy mashed potatoes and a green salad

1 cock pheasant, quartered
60 ml/4 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
25 g/1 oz/2 tbsp butter
8 cooked baby beetroot (red beets), quartered
100 g/4 oz chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped, reserving the leaves
8 juniper berries, lightly crushed
60 ml/4 tbsp port
200 ml/7 fl oz/scant 1 cup chicken stock, made with ½ stock cube
15 ml/1 tbsp brandy
10 ml/2 tsp tomato purée (paste)
2.5 ml/½ tsp dried mixed herbs
Chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Coat the pheasant pieces in the cornflour seasoned with a little salt and pepper. Heat half the butter in a frying pan, add the pheasant and brown all over. Transfer to the crock pot and scatter the beetroot and mushrooms around.
Heat the remaining butter in the frying pan, add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add any remaining cornflour to the pan and stir in the juniper berries, port, stock, brandy and tomato purée. Bring to the boil, then pour over the pheasant. Sprinkle with the mixed herbs. Cover and cook on Low for 5-6 hours until the pheasant is tender.
Taste and re-season, if necessary. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley and serve hot with fluffy mashed potatoes and a green salad.

South Pacific Chicken with Pineapple

This dish has its roots in the South Sea Islands of Fiji, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, Samoa, New Caledonia, Tonga and Vanuatu. It's a lovely sweet and sour combination that is refreshingly light. I first tried a version of it in my teens, when an old boyfriend, who was in the Merchant Navy, brought back the recipe from one of his trips.

Serves 4
Cooking time 6-8 hrs low
Serve with plain boiled rice

4 chicken portions
2.5 ml/½ tsp garlic salt
Freshly ground black pepper
30 ml/2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, cut into chunky wedges
2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
4 tomatoes, quartered
1 red (bell pepper), sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 small sweet potato, cut into small chunks
225 g/8 oz/small can of pineapple pieces in natural juice, drained, reserving the juice
15 ml/1 tbsp soy sauce
15 ml/1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
30 ml/2 tbsp toasted desiccated (shredded) coconut to garnish

Wipe the chicken with kitchen paper (paper towels) and season with the garlic salt and some pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the chicken and brown on all sides. Transfer to the crock pot.
Add the onion, celery, tomatoes, sliced peppers and sweet potato to the pan and fry, stirring, for 2 minutes. Tip into the crock pot and add the pineapple pieces.
Make up the pineapple juice to 300 ml/½ pt/1¼ cups with water. Add to the frying pan, bring to the boil and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours.
Mix together the soy sauce and cornflour in a saucepan. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to warmed plates and pour the cooking liquid into the saucepan. Bring to the boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Taste and re-season, if necessary.
Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle with the toasted coconut and serve with rice.

Blue Mountain Peppered Lamb Shanks with Fragrant Plum Chutney

Blue Mountain pepper is actually the ground leaf of the mountain pepper tree, which grows in the Blue Mountain rain forest in New South Wales and other rain forests in Australia. I've used coarsely ground rainbow peppercorns instead here, which add a good, peppery flavour and an attractive finish.

Serves 4
Cooking time 10-12 hrs low
Serve with celeriac and potato mash, broccoli

4 lamb shanks
30 ml/2 tbsp redcurrant jelly (clear conserve), warmed
30 ml/2 tbsp coarsely crushed rainbow peppercorns
150 ml/¼ pt/2/3 cup lamb stock, made with ½ stock cube
60 ml/4 tbsp white Chardonnay
Salt
1 large sprig of rosemary

For the chutney:
2 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
8 ripe plums, halved, stoned (pitted) and chopped
30 ml/2 tbsp white balsamic condiment
30 ml/2 tbsp plum or hoisin sauce
15 ml/1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
A pinch of salt
Caster (superfine) sugar, to taste
Small sprigs of rosemary to garnish

Brush the shanks all over with the jelly and coat in the crushed peppercorns. Place in the crock pot.
Pour the stock and wine into a saucepan, bring to the boil and pour around the lamb. Season lightly with salt and add the sprig of rosemary. Cover and cook on Low for 10-12 hours.
Meanwhile, to make the chutney, put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes until pulpy. Taste - if the plums were not very ripe you may need to sweeten the chutney slightly with sugar. Tip into a small serving dish.
When the meat is very tender, strain the cooking liquid into a small saucepan and boil rapidly for 2-3 minutes until slightly reduced. Transfer the lamb to warm plates, spoon the juices over, garnish with sprigs of rosemary and serve with the plum chutney, celeriac and potato mash and broccoli.

Crock Pot Australian Damper Bread

Damper is a fairly dry, coarse, unleavened Aussie bread, cooked on a campfire in a billy can. But - amazingly - you can get extremely successful results when it is cooked in a crock pot, though you don't, of course, get that smoky flavour. Traditionally it is eaten hot from the pot, smeared with syrup.

Makes 1 loaf
Cooking time 4-6 hrs low
Serve with golden (light corn) syrup

450 g/1 lb/4 cups self-raising flour
5 ml/1 tsp salt
50 g/2 oz/½ cup dried milk powder (non-fat dry milk)
330 ml can of lager or 330 ml/
11 fl oz/scant 11/3 cups water
A little oil or butter for greasing

Mix the flour and salt with the milk powder and enough of the lager or water to form a soft, slightly sticky dough.
Grease the crock pot with oil or butter and line the base with non-stick baking parchment. Pop the ball of dough into the pot and cook on Low for 4-6 hours or the until bread is risen and spongy.
Serve torn into pieces with golden syrup smeared over.