A Native-Inspired Aussie Christmas
Believe it or not, Christmas is peaking its sneaky head around the corner, and will be here before we know it! It won’t come as a surprise to you to hear that my favourite part about Christmas is the food, so that’s where my planning begins.
This year, I wanted to try something a little closer to home… a Christmas meal utilising our new extensive Australian Native herb and spice range from morning until night. Whether you do breakfast, lunch, dinner or all of the above, there’s a native-inspired meal to suit everyone in this menu, including all the vegos out there with some variation suggestions to suit any vegan family members attending.
Deleted: We have even put together a fantastic All Australian native spice kit to allow you to create all the wonderful dishes on the menu below.
To help we have linked all the recipes at the bottom of the blog post and have put together a brief description of each recipe below.
Breakfast
Wattleseed French Toast with Strawberry Gum Cream
A special occasion morning calls for an extra-special breakfast and this Aussie French Toast recipe fits the bill perfectly. This plate of gooey, crispy, fruity French toast is the ideal meal to kick off a day of eating whilst opening and gifting pressies. To the eggy mixture, I add some of our Ground Wattleseed to add an earthy warmth and coffee-like flavour as well as a slight crunch that the thick slices of bread soak up beautifully. Topped with lashings of Strawberry Gum-laced cream that’s whisked into luscious soft peaks, drizzled with sweet, toasty maple syrup and adorned with fresh strawberries, this dish will have the whole family springing in to Christmas day.
For a vegan option – replace the milk with almond, coconut or oat milk, the 4 eggs with 4 tbsp ground chia seeds, and the cream with coconut cream/yoghurt.
Every Christmas morning for the adults, I always whip up a breakfast-suitable cocktail to start the festivities and Peach Bellinis have to be a favourite, especially in the warmth of an Aussie summer Christmas. For this year, I’ll be adding a touch of Native Wild Thyme that works so well with the fresh, sweet peaches.
This Native Thyme Peach Bellinis recipe is simple and makes enough for 6 people. They’re so refreshing and delicious however, you may need to double the ingredients for a guaranteed round two.
Lunch/Dinner
Pepperberry & Lemon Myrtle Spiced Prawns with Lemon Myrtle Mayo
Entree (or main)
The ultimate addition to any Aussie Christmas food table – prawns! By BBQing these beauties, it not only adds to the charm of an all-Aussie Christmas in the backyard with friends and family but creates a beautiful herby charred flavour on the outside and sweet prawn meat inside. I sprinkle them with a Pepper Berry Leaf and Lemon Myrtle Leaf seasoning to add flavour and place them lengthwise on skewers so they cook nice and evenly. I serve these with a homemade Lemon Myrtle mayonnaise that has a wonderful herbal zingy creaminess that works so well with the prawns. This recipe is for a standard family of 4 – with 4 prawns per person – but you can double, triple, or even quadruple the recipe to suit the number of guests you have. These are also perfect for either an entree or a main, just adjust the quantities accordingly.
For a vegetarian/vegan option, use the same recipe but replace the prawns with tofu, zucchini, or eggplant and use a vegan mayo.
Native-Seasoned and Stuffed Roast Chicken
Turkey is a classic, but it can often be tricky to get a hold of, quite expensive, or inconveniently large taking up valuable fridge and oven space. Plus, as I’ve already shared my classic Lemon and Thyme Turkey recipe with you, I thought I’d do my Native-Seasoned and Stuffed Roast Chicken this year for those of you that choose the humble chook for Christmas lunch or dinner. This chook is absolutely full of flavours and textures that all work in harmony to create the most amazing roast chicken you will ever try!
A whole Australia free-range chook is lightly seasoned with our Native BBQ Seasoning and stuffed with a combination of caramelised leek, crunchy macadamia pieces, flavourful pork sausages, fragrant Native Thyme and studded with bright, sweet dried apricots. This stuffing gently steams within the cavity of the bird and cooks it gently and evenly from inside whilst the Native BBQ Seasoning crisps up the outside and creates the most flavourful outer crust.
If stuffing is not your thing, then the Native Mint Roast Chicken is for you. In this recipe, a herby, bacon-studded ricotta mixture is slid gently between the chicken breast and the skin keeping the meat super moist while cooking as well as permeating it with the wonderful flavour of the Native Pepper Berries, Wild Rivermint, and Peppermint Gum. This roast is baked in a hot oven until crisp and golden on the outside, and juicy on the inside, filling your house with the most wonderful smells that are an absolute must on Christmas day.
For a vegetarian/vegan option, use the same Native herby flavours with a nut roast. A favourite of mine is Jamie Oliver’s version which you can find here.
Saltbush Roast Pork Roll with Crispy Crackling
If you have a few more mouths to feed, or the sound of this pork recipe grabs you a little more, here is another winning native flavoured dish that’s excellent for sharing. Saltbush is one of my all-time favourite native herbs. It adds an earthy saltiness that you just can’t achieve with anything else, that pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the apples and onions as well as the juicy, tender pork meat inside.
Topped off with a crisp crackling cap that is an absolute must when it comes to roast pork, this native twist on a classic roast is a wonderful addition to a Chrissy table!
Sides
For a few native-inspired sides ideas –
Eggplant with Tomato-Mint Sauce and Goats Cheese
This yummy baked eggplant recipe is an adaptation of a recipe I found from 1998 on the site epicurious.com that collates amazing recipes from all different sources. For my version, I decided to give it a native twist by adding our Peppermint Gum, Native Basil and Native Pepper Berry Leaf. The herbs give this dish a fragrant sweetness and teamed with the tangy goats cheese and fresh tomatoes, this sauce compliments the soft silky eggplant perfectly..
For a vegan option, use vegan cottage cheese in place of ricotta.
No Christmas meal is complete with a bowl of golden, roasted spuds! These crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside Native Roasted Potatoes encrusted in fragrant native herbs are absolutely delicious! The Native Saltbush adds a savoury, salty, earthy flavour whilst the Lemon Myrtle adds a little fragrant zing, and the Pepper Berry Leaf adds a subtle fruity pepperiness that takes your roast potatoes to the next level!
Using fresh, new-season summer mangoes, my Mango Goats Cheese salad is the perfect combination of sweet, fresh, salty and creamy. This unusual combination with a finishing touch of Native White Kunzea and Wild Thyme is the perfect summer side salad addition to your Christmas table.
Dessert
Strawberry Gum, Cherry & Macadamia Cake
No Christmas season is complete, in my opinion, without new-season summer cherries. This nutty, fruity, delicious cake showcases them perfectly with one of the most amazing native herbs – Strawberry Gum. This naturally sweet, berry-scented home-grown gem adds the most wonderful strawberry flavour that compliments the buttery macadamias and fresh berries perfectly. Topped with loads of fresh cherries and served with ice cream or cream, this show-stopping dessert is the excellent end to an Aussie Christmas meal.
Cheats Pavlova with Fresh Berries and Strawberry Gum Cream
As impressive and delicious as it is simple. My Cheats Pavlova with Fresh Berries and Strawberry Gum Cream takes a store-bought meringue base and tops it with lashings of Strawberry Gum-laced fluffy cream and piles of fresh berries for a sweet, fruity end to a delicious Chrissy meal.
Sweet Treats
Anise Myrtle & Orange Shortbread
To me, shortbread is so reminiscent of my childhood and always reminds me of Christmas time. For this edition, I decided to have a little play around with our Native spice, Anise Myrtle for something a little different.
Lemon Myrtle and Pear Syrup Cake
This delicious cake is an excellent way to showcase new-season pears! Combined with a favourite local native, Lemon Myrtle, this syrupy, fruity, super-moist cake makes a perfect 3 pm pick-me-up treat or after-dinner sweet delight during the festive period.
Dinner
In this recipe ,I use swordfish as I love its mild flavour as a vehicle for the flavourful BBQ rub and its meaty texture, but you can use any fish you like or chicken, pork, beef or veg. This versatile spice rub adds maximum flavour to any protein or ingredient with just a quick sprinkle!
In my Native BBQ Burger recipe, I use beef mince but you can just as easily use chicken, turkey, pork or even veg or haloumi steaks. Same goes for its fillings, below are just a few ideas, but you can add in, leave out or swap anything you like.
Native Australian Christmas Menu
Breakfast
Wattleseed French Toast with Strawberry Gum Cream
Peach Bellinis Cocktail
Lunch
Pepperberry & Lemon Myrtle Prawns with Lemon Myrtle Mayo
Native-Seasoned and Stuffed Roast Chicken
Saltbush Roast Pork Roll with Crispy Crackling
Eggplant with Tomato-Mint Sauce and Goats Cheese
Native Roasted Potatoes
Mango Goats Cheese Salad
Dessert
Strawberry Gum, Cherry & Macdamia Cake
Cheats Pavlova with Berries & Strawberry Gum Cream
Afternoon Delights
Anise Myrtle & Orange Shortbread
Lemon Myrtle and Pear Syrup Cake
Dinner
Native BBQ Fish or Meat of your choice
Aussie BBQ Burgers
A few foodie gifting ideas and titbits
If you’re looking to give some gifts with a personal touch this Christmas, why not try out some homemade goods? A few recipes that are perfect for this are:
- Banana, Rum, Pepperberry & Wattleseed Bread
- Anise Myrtle & Orange Shortbread
- Native Herb and Kale Pesto
- Peppermint Gum & Apple Pickle
Another great idea – bottles of native-herb-infused olive oil. Add 1 tbsp of a native herb of your choice (our entire range listed at the bottom of this page), to 2 cups of good-quality olive oil and gently warm in a saucepan on a low heat until it’s warm and fragrant. Pour into sterilised bottles, close up, pop a ribbon on and gift away!
A helpful tip – if you find yourself with some leftover chook, give my Australian Mountain Pepper Chicken Cheats Risotto a go with the leftover meat – it makes the perfect Boxing Day dinner.
I hope my native Aussie-inspired Christmas menu has given you a little inspiration to try something a little different this Christmas. Whether you have lunch or dinner, or celebrate on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, all of these dishes make the perfect festive meal!
Wishing you all a very safe and happy Christmas.
Ciao,
Liz.
