Ingredients
300g Burru (kangaroo) fillet/loin (as this will be served raw, it is important to use the freshest possible, not frozen)
50ml Burru dressing (see recipe below)
50ml wattle seed oil (see recipe below)
20 pieces pickled desert limes (see recipe below) (can be substituted with preserved lemon, thinly sliced, pith removed)
50g crispy puffed wattle seeds (see recipe below)
Vegetable oil, for frying
Pepperberry powder (or ground Szechuan pepper)
1 x small bunch native thyme (or fresh thyme leaves)
Sea salt
100g Truganini (grey saltbush found in coastal areas), washed and leaves picked
1 lemon, quartered and seeds removed
50g Bunya nut puree (see recipe below)
Bunya nut puree
100g raw macadamia nuts (unsalted)
150g Bunya nuts (substitute with macadamia nuts, if required)
40g macadamia oil
250g cold water
2 x lemons, juiced
50ml water (more if needed to achieve desired consistency)
1g fine salt (adjust to taste)
1g sugar (adjust to taste)
25ml white wine vinegar
Pickled desert limes
200g water
100g white sugar
100g rice wine vinegar
100g desert limes
Wattle seed oil
100g raw wattle seeds (it is important to note that not all varieties of wattle seeds are edible, some are poisonous. Most edible varieties can be found in health food stores)
200g vegetable oil
Burru dressing
35g finely chopped garlic
35ml vegetable oil
45g Chinese rice wine
80g cabernet vinegar (or good quality red wine vinegar)
40g gluten free soy sauce (or mild soy)
1g pepper berry ground (or ground Szechuan pepper)
20g oyster sauce
Method
1. Start by preparing the Bunya nut puree. This will need to be cooled down and seasoned later.
2. Place nuts, oil and cold water in a powerful tall food processer and blend on high for 10-15 minutes. Once it is smooth and glossy, pour out and push through a fine sieve into a medium bowl to remove any small unblended pieces.
3. Place baking paper over the top to prevent a skin forming and place in fridge.
4. Once cool, whisk in lemon juice, water, fine salt, sugar, and white wine vinegar and mix until combined. Add more salt, sugar, lemon juice or water to achieve a smooth, slightly runny consistency (like pouring cream) that is balanced in acidity and flavour.
5. Place aside for later use.
6. Next pickle the desert limes. Bring water, sugar and vinegar to boil then pour over desert limes. Place in fridge to cool.
7. Once cooled, cut in half and place back into liquid.
8. For the wattle seed oil, combine all ingredients in a small pot and simmer on lowest setting (you want to see very small bubbles but no rapid frying) for 2 hours. This will extract flavour without burning the oil.
9. Let cool down in the pot and sieve out oil, reserve for later. Retain seeds for another use.
10. Burra dressing: Place garlic and oil in a small saucepan and cook on low until garlic is soft.
11. Add Chinese rice wine and reduce by half, then add cabernet vinegar, gluten free soy sauce and 1g pepper berry and gently reduce by half again.
12. Add oyster sauce and set aside to cool.
13. Puffed wattle seeds: Boil wattle seeds in water until soft, drain and dry off. Depending on the variety of wattle seeds this will take several hours.
14. Heat small amount of vegetable oil in a large pot to 180ºC and fry wattle seeds in small batches until crisp, then remove from pot with a sieve and drain onto a paper towel before seasoning lightly with salt. Set aside.
15. To serve: To prepare the Burru meat, remove any sinew, and then dice into small, even pieces around half a centimetre thick.
16. In a mixing bowl, add Burru, a pinch of sea salt, 2 tsp wattle seed oil, 1 small pinch pepper berry powder and mix to combine, being careful to coat each piece.
17. Then add a pinch of thyme leaves (picked off the stalk), 1 tablespoon of puffed wattle seeds and mix again. Check seasoning.
18. Place a small amount of Bunya puree in the centre of each plate and then lay an even amount of Burru meat over the top.
19. Spoon over a few small drops of Burru dressing over the meat. This is a strong sauce, so not too much.
20. Lay 5 pieces of pickled desert lime on top of each.
21. To cook the saltbush, heat a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat, add 50ml vegetable oil and saltbush and sweat on low until wilted. This will take no longer than 2 minutes – take care to not overcook the saltbush.
22. Remove from pan and drain any excess oil in a colander. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice and lay the hot saltbush over the meat tableside. Serve immediately.
Wine match: Shiraz or Tempranillo
Styling: Deb Kaloper