If you’ve got the breakfast blahs, opening the door on Australia’s bush food pantry is a sure-fire way to change things up. And it’s an easy way to do it too – not only can it be as simple as putting some , but getting your hands on these amazing flavours is much easier than it used to be.
“We’ve got so many great ingredients in our own backyard,” says chef, cookbook author and host Justine Schofield, who says that travelling through the Northern Territory to film a previous TV series, Outback Gourmet, really opened her eyes to the range of Indigenous ingredients and how they could be used. In the past, they weren’t as readily available, but with more companies now selling online, access has become easier, she says. “Using it in our everyday cooking is now absolutely possible and it tastes delicious.”
These days, you can buy everything from to sprinkle on your muesli to to sip with your brekkie.
Inspired to give some new flavours a go? Here are some of our favourite ways to add bush foods to breakfast.
Slather on the jam
Is toast your breakfast fave? Or perhaps you’re a fan of a breakfast scone for a weekend breakfast (if so, are just the ticket). Then try this recipe for tart-but-sweet, brilliantly red or this simple recipe for . You could also ring the changes in your scone with these .
Sweet-but-tart rosella jam is a perfect match with scones, crumpets, fruit bread or toast. Source: Feast magazine
A trifling matter
If dessert for breakfast sounds deliciously indulgent, give Justine Schofield’s a go. She was inspired to create this recipe during an early morning visit to , a natural swimming pool in Nitmiluk National Park, north of Katherine in the Northern Territory, and while we’d obviously be lying if we said eating one will magically transport you to where she whipped it up, perhaps closing your eyes and savouring the flavour of lemon myrtle in this tropical brekkie might give you a wee bit of the peace of this scenic spot.
Great spot for a bush breakfast: Justine Schofield at Leliyn/Edith Falls Source: Outback Gourmet
Eggs for breakfast
If eggs are your go-to, you can try all kinds of native sea greens and bush herbs. Use beach mustard greens to add a fiery garnish, , or try a sheep’s cheese frittata from Indigenous chef Mark Olive, who uses saltbush, pepperleaf and Warrigal greens in .
Source: Tammi Kwok
Go nuts
They are so easily available that we don’t always think of them as an Australian native food (and they are mostly commercially grown, not wild harvested) but macadamias are as Australian as thongs, lamingtons and meat pies.
Put them on your breakfast menu in these , as a crunchy topping on , or in the macadamia-walnut butter served with these:
Paleo choc chip pancakes with nut butter and berry jam. Source: Benito Martin
Banana, cinnamon and chia seed porridge Source: Irena Macri
One big, happy pancake
Feeding a family, or friends? A Dutch baby is like a big easy-to-make cross between a pancake and a popover, perfect for the weekend start. Justine Schofield made this for a dessert to share at a campfire dinner in Outback Gourmet, but says it’s great for breakfast, too. (Her recipe includes instructions for making it in an oven, as well as in a campfire.
“Lemon myrtle is a sensational ingredient, it's got that balmy lemony flavour, so it’s absolutely delicious to use in this. But you can make a Dutch baby sweet or savoury. They're usually done quite small, but I love to do it as a whole puffy, big pancake.”
Time for tea (or a wattlecino)
If you like a cuppa with breakfast, there’s an exciting world of native flavours for you to explore. Here are a few examples to inspire you: The tea range from , for example, includes finger lime and native mint; Davidson plum and lemon myrtle; and river mint and ant (apparently the brew is “minty with a little savoury and citrus punch from the ants”). The sells maarr (native lemongrass) tea, which they describe as great with meals, as it is said to aid digestion, and berry myrtle tea, which brings together several bush flavours. Coffee lovers, how about a or making your cup with ?
