After a flurry of stop-start appearances in top kitchens, native bushfoods are back on the menu
For a long time, most of Australia's professional kitchens have had a love-hate relationship with native bushfoods and indigenous ingredients. Sure, they'd experiment, but the strong, assertive flavours of mountain pepper and bush tomato overpowered our predominantly European-style dishes.
Slowly, as our love affair with everything local grows even stronger, bush foods are back on the menu, handled a little more expertly. You could argue that it's the Rene Redzepi effect driving the movement.
The head chef of former world No. 1 restaurant Noma, Copenhagen (which will relocate to Sydney next year) redefined Nordic food by using local ingredients and pushed chefs across the globe to explore their own back yards. 
But Spencer Patrick, owner-chef of Harrisons restaurant, in Port Douglas, thinks Australian bush tucker goes deeper than trends.
"It's just about being super local, and using what grows around us. It's something that we lost for a while, but now everyone is moving back towards it," Patricks says.
Beach almonds, muntries, bush tomatoes and other foraged natives feature on his menu, as well as peppery moringa leaves, sourced from the Mossman farmers markets in north Queensland.
The hairy husk from coconuts grown along the ocean front are turned into ash for his sourdough, garnished with moringa and whatever else is in season. Muntrie berries, also sourced from a friend at the market who forages for them, are soaked into spiced syrup and paired with kingfish.
"The muntries are like baby apples - I can only ever get a handful at a time, but you can put them in salads or make a pie out of them with lemon myrtle powder for a really Australian apple pie," Patrick says.
Bush tomatoes, known for their intense, almost sun-dried taste, are used to flavour a bouillabaisse made with freshwater queenfish and yabbies.
But the bush food spices and fruits are just one small area of indigenous food culture that is gaining interest in mainstream culinary circles.
On north Queensland's Palm Island, the Bwgcolman community rely heavily on wild-caught seafood, including the prized turtle, as a main food source.
The island has long been considered one of the most notorious shires in the country - with high unemployment rates and little industry - cut off from the mainland.
Now residents are using food to connect with the outside community, as part of mayor Alf Lacey's plan to strengthen the local economy and provide enterprise and employment opportunities through open days and markets.
Zina Prior, a third-generation Palm Islander, staffs a market stall on the oceanfront with her nine-year-old son Musofsulari. Muzzii, as he's nicknamed, gets up at 5am to prepare coconut chicken curry and seafood with rice.
"These are the recipes that my parents made for me, recipes that have been around since before I was born," Prior says.
"My son's been cooking since he was five years old. He just loves it. We do this so he has a business to work towards, something to set him up in the future." Her other son fishes for the crayfish, clams and squid to go into the curry, but they try to avoid the traditional turtle because of overfishing. There's only one shop on the island, which locals complain is overpriced due to the cost of shipping over food. Hunting provides a good substitute.
"We like possum and I was going to serve it, but I don't want to offend anyone," she laughs. "I fry it with butter, mixed herbs, cinnamon, thyme and curry. That's what we eat in the real world." Veronica Coutts, who moved to Palm from York Island in the Torres Strait 40 years ago, also cooks up her family's favourite meals at the market. Golden, puffy sabbi (coconut) scones are served with curries or with butter and jam, but they also accompany her pukka lolo, a sweet pumpkin dish wrapped in banana leaf.
"The pukko lolo is usually just made for feasting times, not as an everyday dish. We boil the pumpkin and mash it with arrowroot, coconut milk and a little sugar, bake it and then pour on more coconut milk, which is soaked up." To make the sabbi scones, she grates fresh coconut flesh, squeezes out the milk and strains it, before mixing it with flour and pan-frying the outside.
"The milk makes the dough soft and the outside crispy," Coutts says. Sabbi chicken curry is eaten by most families on the island, along with kap murri-cooked meats and vegetables.
"For the kap murri, you make a fire to heat up the rocks, wait till it dies down and wrap all your food in coconut leaf or alfoil, and then cover it with more leaves, hessian bags and sand to make sure it steams without any smoke." Locally caught crayfish and possum are fair game, as well as damper, pumpkin, sweet potato and cabbage.
Like Prior, Coutts' family grew up feasting on octopus, crayfish and crabs, but now avoids catching turtle and dugong.
"We get one turtle and supplies the whole island, but even that's one too many," Coutts says.
"Everyone brings their buckets and has some. My mum always separates the fat from the meat and cooks them separately, steaming it with some lemon leaf or tea grass, and a bit of flour to make gravy." The matured understanding of native ingredients and indigenous food is well documented in The Great Australian Cookbook, published by PQ Blackwell. It has recipes that champion the cuisine by respected indigenous chefs, such as Clayton Donovan, Alice Springs caterer Rayleen Brown, and Sydney chef and food educator Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo.
"I'm proud to come from a people that have thrived by passing traditions and knowledge on to each new generation," Van-Oploo says.
"Talking about our food is an important way of keeping our culture alive. "It makes me happy to see people integrating it into their own cultures too. Kangaroo curry? Now that's Australia." CHARGRILLED KANGAROO FILLET WITH SWEET POTATO MASH, QUANDONG JUS & WARRIGAL GREENS Desert lime: Like our other bush fruits, desert limes are tiny but intense in flavour. The fingernail-sized limes can stand in for lemon or lime zest in most recipes.
SERVES 4 PREPARATION TIME:30 MINUTES COOKING TIME: 45 MINUTES
Sweet potato mash 2 large sweet potatoes 1 tbsp unsalted butter Salt and pepperKangaroo 4 x 180-200g kangaroo filletsSalt and pepper Olive oilQuandong jus 1Â¼ cups kangaroo or game stockÂ¼ cup port2 tbsp quandong jam Salt and pepperWarrigal greens 5 cups warrigal greens (English spinach works well if you can't get them) METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 160C and then wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and bake them for 45 minutes, or until soft. Remove the potatoes from the foil and scoop the flesh from the skins into a mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash the sweet potatoes with the butter and season to taste. For a smoother consistency, push the mash through a sieve. Set aside and keep warm.
2. To prepare the kangaroo fillets: Season and lightly brush with olive oil. On a hot barbecue or chargrill, cook the fillets for about 4 minutes on each side for a medium-rare steak and set aside for 10 minutes, wrapped in foil, to rest.
3. To make the jus: In a saucepan on a medium to high heat, reduce the stock by half, then add the port and the quandong jam. Stir to combine and bring the sauce to a simmer. Season to taste and reduce further if desired. Set aside and keep warm.
4. To cook the warrigal greens: Bring 2 litres of water and a good pinch of salt to the boil in a large saucepan. Carefully lower in the greens and blanch for 30 seconds. Immediately strain and refresh under cold water. Drain and set aside.
5. To assemble: Slice the rested kangaroo fillets to your desired thickness. On a serving plate, place a large spoonful of mash in the centre, then place the greens on top, followed by the sliced fillets. Drizzle the lot with the resting juices and quandong jus, and finish with a little olive oil and a little salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe by Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo, as seen in The Great Australian Cookbook (PQ Blackwell, $49.95) NATIVE INGREDIENTS GUIDE Muntries: Also known as native cranberries, these little berries are often compared to apples, with a spicier flavour. Crunchy in texture and packed with antioxidants, they are mainly found across Australia's southern coast. They can be used in everything from salads to desserts.
Finger limes: Delicate finger limes present as a waxy pod, filled with tiny caviar-like pearls that pop with sweet lime juice. The rainforest fruit varies in colour, from bright green to soft pink, pairs well with seafood and makes a pretty garnish.
Kangaroo: While Australians may cop some flak over eating their national emblem, kangaroo is best-known for its extremely low fat content and clean, slightly gamey tasting meat. It can be grilled, pan-fried, barbecued or oven roasted.
Lemon myrtle: Popular in cosmetics for the fresh-scented essential oils, lemon myrtle leaves can be brewed into tea or crushed and powdered for use as a herb.
Wattleseed: Described as having cocoa and coffee notes, wattleseed (from the acacia family) is usually roasted, with a strong, nutty flavour. It works well with game meats or with creamy desserts.
Bush tomato: Grown mainly in desert climates, only a few species of bush tomato plants are edible and sold as a dried product. The tiny fruits pack a big flavour punch, similar to sun-dried tomatoes.
Mountain pepper: This plant, also known as pepperberry, grows in cold climates. Both the leaves and berries can be used. The dark little berries can be used like black pepper, with a herbal kick, while the leaves are more subtle.Quandong: Bright glossy-skinned red quandongs have a tart, sweet flavour and a large kernel inside. The flesh is generally cooked with sugar to tone down the sour notes and is great in cakes.