Old Australian Food Recipes

Recipes, Cooking and Delicious Meals the old time way in Australia

   

Australian Frilled Neck Lizard

The Frilled neck lizard is very unique to Australia varying in size up to 95cm long and weighing up to 500gms. Like many reptiles they absorb the heat of the sun which gives it the energy to live and hunt for food. It survives on eating insects, small lizards, ants, etc. Young lizards are hatched from eggs, (up to 20) laid in the ground, which once hatched are entirely independent. They live in northern and north western Australia, areas of a warm climate.   

 

The Recipes

Re-Edited & Updated November 30/07

 

Helpers

Prawns = Shrimp

1 gill = 1/2 cup

Unless specified otherwise, all temps are in Fahrenheit

Flour = Unless otherwise stated, "flour" refers to plain flour.

All oven temperatures are based on the standard wood oven, gas oven and electric oven.

Fats, dripping, lard, etc can be substituted with your selected oils.

Special Recipes

Old Handy Hints & Ideas

Measure Conversions & Cooking Terms Link

Oven Temperatures & Reference Link

 

 

 

Lobster Savoury

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

1 cup lobster meat

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup cold tinned or fresh cooked peas

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 lemon

Cayenne

Hot buttered toast

1 1/2 cups milk or cream.

Method

Melt butter in a pan. Add flour, salt and cayenne to taste. Gradually add milk or cream. Beat till smooth. Cut lobster into cubes and add. Add peas (if tinned, drain off liquor and rinse in cold water). If desired, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice may be added. Reheat and serve on triangles of hot butter toast.

 

Lobster Sauce

Ingredients

Piece of shelled lobster

1 oz. Flour

3/4 pint milk

Lemon juice

1 oz. Butter

Salt

Cayenne

Method

Cut lobster into pieces and simmer in milk for 30 minutes. Strain, melt butter, add flour, make into a smooth paste and cook 1 minute. Add strained milk gradually, stirring constantly till it boils. Add lemon juice, salt, cayenne, and the small pieces of lobster. Serve hot or cold. 

 

Small Prawns in Ramekins

Ingredients

1/2 oz. butter

Grated onion

1/2 oz. flour

1 dessertspoon cream

1 3/4 gills hot stock

1 pint prawns

1 dessertspoon tomato sauce

3 dessertspoons lemon juice

2 egg yolks

Breadcrumbs

Salt and cayenne.

Method

Heat butter, add flour, and stir till smooth. Add stock and tomato sauce and stir till boiling, cook for 3 minutes. Remove from fire and allow to cool slightly, add egg yolks, salt, cayenne, and grated onion to taste, lastly add cream. Reheat gently over a low fire, add prawns and when well heated remove from fire and carefully add lemon juice. Place mixture into buttered ramekin, sprinkle top lightly with breadcrumbs, add a tiny piece of butter, and brown lightly under hot griller.

 

Small Prawns on Toast

Ingredients

2 oz. butter

1 gill pickled prawns

2 oz. anchovy paste

Lemon juice

Pinch cayenne

1 dessertspoon finely chopped parsley

14 rounds thin toast.

Method

Pound butter and anchovy paste, add cayenne, spread on toast, arrange shrimps on top of this in the form of a star.Sprinkle with lemon juice, sprinkle parsley in centre of each, serve on a plate with d’oyley and garnish with parsley.

 

Lobster Canapes

Ingredients

3 tablespoons lobster or crab flesh

Frying fat

3 tablespoons cream

Olives or gherkins

Salt

Lemon

Cayenne

1/2 dozen pieces round bread

Method

Chop lobster into small pieces, mix with cream and add flavourings. Fry bread a golden brown, spread with lobster paste and decorate with chopped olives or gherkins, garnish with slices of lemon and small lobster claws.

 

Crab Puffs

Ingredients

1/4 lb. savoury choux pastry

Salt and cayenne

1 teaspoon butter

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon flour

1 small tin crab

3/4 gill milk

Chopped parsley

Method

Make pastry and place it in teaspoonfuls on a greased tin, bake in a hot oven 20 minutes. Remove centre (if any), make melted butter sauce with butter, flour, and milk, flavour with salt, cayenne, and lemon juice. Break crab into small pieces and add to sauce. Fill pastry cases with this mixture, garnish with slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley.

 

Lobster Cream

Ingredients

1/2 lobster

1/2 pint thick white sauce

2 hard boiled eggs

2 teaspoons anchovy sauce

Salt and cayenne

1 tablespoon cream

Lemon juice

Toast or lobster shell for serving

1 tablespoon butter

Method

Take lobster from shell and cut into small pieces, shell the eggs (leaving 1 yolk whole for garnishing), cut white up finely. Place in a basin with salt, cayenne, and lemon juice. Place butter, white sauce, anchovy sauce, lobster, egg white, and 1 yolk in saucepan and stir till well heated. Remove from stove and add cream. Place on toast or fill shell with mixture and grate the remaining yolk over all. Place on a dish and garnish with lobster claws, slices of lemon, and sprigs of parsley.

 

Lobster Cutlets

Ingredients

1/2 lobster

1 lemon

1 oz. flour

Anchovy sauce

1 oz. flour

Egg and breadcrumbs

Frying fat

1 gill milk or water

parsley

2 tablespoons cream

1 hard boiled egg

Salt and cayenne

Method

Cut lobster into small pieces, and add soft part of head, melt butter in small saucepan, stir in flour, and cook well. Add milk or water and stir till boiling. Add cream, salt, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, anchovy sauce, and lobster. Place on a plate and allow to become cold. Take a small portion, place on floured board and make into a cutlet shape with a knife. Dip into beaten egg and then into breadcrumbs, wet dry, then drain. Place a small piece of claw into end of each cutlet then serve garnished with slices of lemon, sprigs of parsley, and chopped egg.

 

 

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Oyster Patties

Ingredients

Puff pastry

1 oz. butter

1 gill oyster liquor

1/2 oz. flour

1 gill milk

2 tablespoons cream

2 peppercorns

2 dozen Oysters

Few drops anchovy sauce

Parsley

1 lemon

Method

Make pastry, roll our 1/8 inch thick and cut out with a plain round cutter dipped in boiling water. Cut half way through rounds with a small cutter, bake in a hot oven 15 to 20 minutes. Bring oyster liquor, milk, and flavouring to boil, and simmer gently 10 minutes. Strain, use this liquor for sauce with butter and flour, remove from fire and add cream, add oysters, minus their beards, to the sauce. Remove centre from patties and fill with oyster mixture and garnish with slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley.

 

Scalloped Oysters

Ingredients

2 dozen oysters

1 oz. flour

1/2 pint milk

Some fine breadcrumbs

Small piece lemon rind

A good squeeze lemon juice

Some parsley

Pinch salt

1 oz. butter

Method

Beard oysters; put beards into milk with lemon rind and salt, bring to boil and simmer gently 10 minutes. Strain, make sauce with this liquid, using butter and flour. Add the oysters to the sauce and grease some scallop shells thickly with butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and lemon juice. Then add oyster mixture, sprinkle breadcrumbs on each and place a piece of butter on top; brown lightly in oven or under a tender griller. Serve hot garnished with parsley.

 

Oyster Cocktail

Ingredients

1 dozen oysters

1 teaspoon prepared horse-radish

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon Worcester sauce

Method

Place 4 oysters in each glass. Mix carefully together all other ingredients and pour over the oysters. Serve very cold with a side salad.

 

Oyster Cocktail Dressing

Ingredients

1 tablespoon grated fresh horse-radish

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon Worcester sauce

4 tablespoons tomato sauce

1 tablespoon salt

Few drops anchovy sauce

1 dozen oysters

Method

Mix all ingredients, except oysters, together and chill thoroughly. Pour 1 1/2 teaspoons of mixture over each glass of oysters. Serve with a side salad.

 

Prawn Chow Mien (yes it was amongst the others)

Ingredients

1/2 lb medium shelled prawns

4 Chinese dried mushrooms

3 stalks celery

1 cup cooked sliced french beans

1 small can water chestnuts

Salt and pepper

1 rasher bacon

1 tablespoon each soy and oyster sauce

1 cup stock

1 1/2 teaspoons cornflour

Method

Wash mushrooms, soak in hot water 20 minutes, squeeze dry and slice. Cut prawns in halves lengthwise, slice celery diagonally, slice water chestnuts, cut bacon into small squares, heat 1 tablespoon oil, add bacon, mushrooms, celery and water chestnuts, fry stirring for 2 minutes. Add salt, pepper, prawns, beans, sauces and stock, put lid on and cook 3 minutes. Mix cornflour with a little water then add to the pan and stir until thickened. Serve hot with noodles.

 

Garlic Prawns

Ingredients

1 lb green shelled medium or king prawns

3 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion (minced)

3 cloves garlic (crushed)

Salt and pepper

Chopped parsley

1/2 cup Vermouth

Method

Melt butter in pan, add onion and garlic, stir until golden. Stir in salt and pepper, parsley and add prawns. Stir until prawns are pink (6-7 minutes). Stir in wine and simmer 3-4 minutes. Serve bubbly hot.

 

Curried Prawns with Egg

Ingredients

1oz butter

1 dessertspoon curry powder (or less according to taste)

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 pint milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 dessertspoon lemon juice

8oz medium or king prawns (cooked and shelled)

4 hard boiled eggs (sliced)

Method

Melt butter in a saucepan and fry curry powder for 2 minutes, add flour and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the milk gradually, then add salt and lemon juice, bring to the boil stirring constantly. Gently stir in the prawns and slices of hard boiled egg, allow to stand over a very low heat until prawns and egg are heated through. Serves 4

 

Spicy Prawn Cutlets

Ingredients

12 green king prawns

4 tablespoons tomato sauce

Oil for deep frying

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon crushed garlic

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon cornflour

1 tablespoon chopped ginger root

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon chopped shallots

1 tablespoon rice wine (or dry sherry)

Method

Shell and de-vein prawns and pat dry with kitchen paper. Heat frypan half full with oil and deep fry prawns for 2 minutes, or until cooked and orange in colour. Drain well, pour all but 2 tablespoons oil from pan, heat oil and fry garlic, ginger and shallots for 30 seconds. Add deep fried prawns, salt, and sugar and heat through. Blend cornflour with water, add to frypan and stir until sauce thickens. Serve immediately on a hot serving plate accompanied by boiled rice. Serves 3-4.

 

 

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