MEET MYRTLE. SHE’S FEISTY, TART AND FROM THE BUSH.
It’s time we built more of Australia’s native ingredients into our everyday home cooking. And who better to inspire us than the next generation of young Indigenous chefs?
Lemon myrtle. It has a really pleasant lemony lime flavour, and you can use the leaf dried or ground in marinades, spice mixes, fish and vegetables. That’s about all I know about it, and shame on me.
There’s so much more to native myrtle than lemon, and so much more to what we can use than the leaf.
At the launch party of the Koori Kitchen Takeover, an initiative that brings the young Indigenous chefs of the future into the heart of Parliament House in New South Wales, there were some memorable plays with finger lime, salt bush, quandongs and the gang. But the myrtles quietly and confidently made their presence felt.
Chef Keith Monroe from Gamilaraay country, near Moree and Boggabilla, served snowy-white meringues laced with mascarpone and lemon myrtle butter. Currently working with Executive Chef Alex Pritchard at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar in Bondi, he’s a qualified pastry chef with five years professional experience.
“At the moment I am really into the native myrtle group – lemon myrtle, myrtle anise and cinnamon myrtle,” says Keith. “They are so diverse and have such a complex flavour profile. You can use their stems, flowers, leaves and oils.”
Parliamentary Catering apprentice chef Bindaray Greenup, from Gumboynggir country on the Mid-North Coast served the illustrious crowd her hand‑rolled tortellini with mountain pepper and crisp saltbush, and a balanced, delicate spoonful of Murray River cod with finger lime and lemon myrtle dressing. “I have loved sharing ideas and learning about the different ways native flavours can be incorporated into our fine dining menu” she says.
Big ups to chefs Liz Lorente and Rockpool’s Jayde Harris for their canapes on the night also. Jayde’s crisp pastry shells filled with a fresh, zingy crabmeat were gone in an instant, while spoonfuls of kangaroo tartare from Liz were as rich as charcuterie, with a wonderfully warming sting of native pepper that hung on the palate like the tail of a comet.
A quick word on the National Indigenous Culinary Institute, with whom I work at Board level. NICI trains Indigenous chefs in the top restaurants in town – and they’re so good at what they do, and have so much to give, that I always end up feeling like a proud aunty. Big thanks to the great restaurants and chefs of Australia who support NICI, and to initiatives such as this that show us the chefs of the future, now.
In a first for the NSW Parliament – and greatly eased by having the mighty Vanessa Harcourt, Executive Chef Parliamentary Catering on side - the Koori Kitchen Takeover tasting plate ($18) is currently starring on the menu of The Strangers Restaurant. Available Monday to Thursday from 12noon to 3pm until 9 July. To book, visit www.parliamentarycatering.com.au
AND MAKE SURE YOU INVITE MYRTLE TO DINNER
Okay, so I borrowed the tempura batter and dipping salt idea from Japan, but fresh tiger prawns, potato ‘chips’, fried onion rings and lemon myrtle make it totes Australian.
TEMPURA PRAWNS WITH LEMON MYRTLE
Serves 4
8 large or 12 medium green (raw) prawns
2 small potatoes, scrubbed and unpeeled
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced (the larger outer rings work best)
2 tbsp cornflour or rice flour
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
2 tsp ground lemon myrtle
2 tsp crushed sea salt
2 tbsp soy sauce for serving
For the batter:
125g plain flour, sifted
1 egg yolk, beaten
150 ml ice-cold sparkling water, and I mean ice-cold
Peel and devein the prawns, leaving the tails.
Finely slice the potatoes into rounds.
Slice the onions, and divide into rings. Pat dry with paper towel.
Mix the lemon myrtle with salt and set aside.
Heat the oil for deep-frying to 170C.
To make the batter, beat the egg yolk, add the ice-cold water and lightly mix with chopsticks. Add the flour all at once, and very lightly mix, leaving it totally clumpy-lumpy. Counter-intuitive, I know, but crucial. Go on, you can do it.
Lightly coat two prawns in cornflour, brushing off the excess, then dip in the batter to thickly coat. Gently lower into the hot oil and cook until lightly golden and puffed.
Drain well and repeat with remaining prawns, then the sliced potato and onion rings.
Serve with soy sauce and the lemon myrtle salt for dipping.
Want to know more about the myrtle mob? Try your ABC.
Thanks for reading (and liking, commenting, subscribing, knock yourself out).
Copyright © 2020 Jill Dupleix.
I would like to acknowledge that I live, work and play on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and wish to pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging. I fully support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to be enshrined in Australia’s Constitution.