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Keep the fire burning, three recipes to honour and celebrate NAIDOC Week.
Dinner Twist acknowledges the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live, work, share food, and create. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and honour the ongoing connection First Nations People have to this land, its stories, and the continued inspiration it provides us with.
I’ve put together three recipes to honour and celebrate NAIDOC Week, a time to recognise the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The 2025 NAIDOC theme, The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, reminds us that learning from and acknowledging the depth of First Nations knowledge is a step toward meaningful recognition, not just now, but for the future.
As a white Australian, I’m approaching this with deep respect and the understanding that native ingredients have been part of First Nations food culture for tens of thousands of years. These recipes aren’t traditional dishes; their purpose is to highlight the incredible flavours of this land. Bright citrus of lemon myrtle in a twist on a prawn roll, tart and spicy lilly pilly in a punchy chimichurri served with barbecued kangaroo, and earthy roasted wattleseed with caramel and macadamia in a rich chocolate tart. I’ve also included a little background on each ingredient and its cultural connection, because these aren’t just “trendy” flavours, they carry deep meaning and deserve to be celebrated thoughtfully. So, whether you’re new to native ingredients or already cooking with them, I hope this blog encourages you to explore with care, curiosity and respect.
Always was, always will be.
Lemon Myrtle Prawn Rolls
makes 6 rolls
- 10g dill
- 1 tbsp dried lemon myrtle flakes
- 200g aioli
- 250g cooked prawns
- 1/2 baby cos lettuce
- 6 mini hot dog rolls
- Finely chop dill. Add to a large bowl along with lemon myrtle and aioli. Mix well to combine.
- Roughly chop prawns and finely shred lettuce. Add to lemon myrtle aioli and mix to combine.
- Optional: Heat a large frypan over medium-high heat. Halve rolls and place cut-side down in the pan. Cook until golden and toasted.
- Fill rolls with even amounts of prawn filling and serve immediately.
- You can make the lemon myrtle aioli a day before serving. Keep refrigerated in an air-tight container. Leftover lemon myrtle aioli can be used as a salad dressing or dip for roasted veg or seafood.
- Depending on what’s in season, switch the prawns for crayfish, blue swimmer or mud crab, yabbies, or Balmain or Moreton Bay bugs.
- Switch up the sauce; substitute aioli with greek yoghurt or sour cream, add finely diced celery and pickles, and add some native river mint for a hint of freshness!
Want to make this at home? We used Catalano's Seafood Australian Wild Caught Peeled Raw Prawns, Fine Food Aioli, and Baby Cos Lettuce from the Dinner Twist Marketplace.
Lemon Myrtle
Kangaroo Fillets with Lilly Pilly Chimichurri
Serves 4-6
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1kg medium potatoes
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2 beetroots
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30g parsley
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300g Lilly Pilly
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1 garlic clove
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1 tbsp red vinegar
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1/3 cup olive oil
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800g kangaroo fillet
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1 packet Ozzie BBQ rub
- Set oven to 250ºC. Wedge beetroot. Add to a lined oven tray and toss with oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender.
- Wedge potatoes and add to a second lined oven tray. Toss with oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes or until tender and golden.
- Remove seeds from lilly pillies. Finely chop lilly pillies and parsley (including tender parsley stems). Add to a bowl as you go along with crushed garlic, 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp water, salt and pepper. Mix to combine.
- Coat kangaroo fillet with oil and season with 1/2 packet BBQ rub, salt and pepper. Heat a BBQ or frypan over medium-high heat. Add kangaroo and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until cooked to your liking. Remove from BBQ to rest.
- Toss potato wedges with remaining BBQ rub.
- Slice kangaroo and serve on a platter with roasted beetroots and lilly pilly chimichurri. Serve with a side of seasoned potato wedges.
- The chimichurri can be made 2-3 days in advance. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Switch fresh beetroot with pre-cooked to reduce cooking time. Wedge and serve. We use separate oven trays for the beetroot and potatoes to eliminate colour staining.
- For extra servings, add more veggies. Carrots, pumpkin, parsnip and sweet potato will all work well.
- Can't find any kangaroo fillets? Beef rump or tenderloin, or lamb loin or backstrap will work well.
Want to make this at home? We used Beetroots, Community Co Red Wine Vinegar, and GH Produce The Ozzie BBQ Rub from the Dinner Twist Marketplace.
Lilly Pilly
Wattle Seed Chocolate Tart
with Caramel Macadamias
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1x 30cm x 30cm sheet short crust pastry
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1 egg white
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1 cup caster sugar
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1/2 cup heavy cream
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1/2 cup unsalted butter (cold and cubed)
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1 tsp salt
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2 cups roasted macadamia nuts
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300g dark chocolate
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2 tbsp butter
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3 tbsp ground wattle seed
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1 cup heavy cream
- Drape pastry into a pie tin (approximately 23cm diameter). Gently press pastry up the side of the tin and use a small knife or scissors to trim excess from the edges. Place pie tin in the freezer for 15 minutes and preheat oven to 180°C.
- To blind bake the pastry, place two large sheets of baking paper, crossways, over the pastry. Fill with baking beads, dry rice or dry beans. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove pastry from oven. Carefully remove baking beads and baking paper from pastry. Brush pastry with egg white and return to oven for 5 minutes.
- To make the caramel, add sugar and 1/3 cup water to a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, occasionally swirling the pan, until the sugar forms a golden caramel colour (about 10-14 minutes).
- Add cream and stir until the caramel comes together. Remove pan from heat, add butter and salt and stir to combine.
- Roughly chop macadamias and scatter in the base of the pastry. Pour caramel over macadamias and refrigerate to cool for 1 hour.
- Roughly chop chocolate. Add to a large bowl along with butter and ground wattle seed.
- Add cream to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and immediately pour over chocolate mix. Leave to sit for 2 minutes, then whisk continuously until chocolate is melted and all ingredients are combined.
- Pour chocolate ganache over macadamia caramel. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour. Slice to serve.
- Use a non-stick pan or well-seasoned cast iron to cook to prevent sticking.
- Switch parmesan cheese for grana padano, pecorino romano, or do a mix of cheddar and parmesan.
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Stir finely chopped red onion, herbs (like dill or chives), or crumbled feta cheese into the avocado mix for extra flavour.
- Add a sprinkle of chilli flakes, za’atar, or dukkah on top of the bagels to serve, and add a splash of hot sauce or pickled red onion for contrast.
Want to make this at home? We used Free-Range WA Eggs, Organic Times Organic Salted Butter and Murray River Salt Flakes from the Dinner Twist Marketplace.
Wattle Seed
With a hard husk that protects the seed during long periods of dormancy on the ground, wattle seed can survive tough weather conditions and historically was a valuable source of protein and carbohydrate in times of drought. Interestingly, Australian wattle seed is cultivated in Africa to provide a valuable protein source for drought-affected populations. It's been grown there since the 1970s, helping address food security in arid regions.
