Country 9 - Australia

 Australia is the world's sixth largest country and is a commonwealth comprising of mainland Australia, the Island of Tasmania and several other small islands. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east and New Zealand to the south-east.  
Australia was inhabited for about 50.000 years before European settlers discovered it in the late 18th century. Therefore the cuisine is influenced by the indigenous peoples hunter-gatherer diet known as 'bush-tucker' as well as British and Irish traditional food.

So we had many 'traditional' Australian foods to choose from this week - shrimp on the barbie, kangaroo etc. In the end Gary asked a work colleague what he would consider to be a traditional meal. He suggested sausage rolls and lamingtons. Well, as we think of sausage rolls as being English, we made meat pie and lamingtons instead! (He did suggest meat pie too).

We don't usually make desserts but we decided to make an exception this time as lamingtons are such a favourite cake across Australia. In fact, they seem to have become so popular that July 21st is National Lamington Day!

I used this recipe. The cake itself should be made the day before so that is has time to rest and firm up before decorating. I was planning on making it Thursday evening but then I was given the option of going to the pub with friends! So needless to say I made the cake Friday morning and had to put it in the freezer to firm up instead! 

The cake recipe is the same as usual, cream butter and sugar together, add eggs then flour to make a batter then pour it into a lined tray and bake until firm.

Later the same day.....

On to making Aussie Meat Pie.

The ingredients were: ground beef (from Peasant's Pantry),

Worcestershire Sauce (pronounced like this!!!!!!!! :D or as most British people say Worcester Sauce, wooster!!!!!!!! - I digress) - stock and tomato ketchup or sauce. It's basically all fried in oil - I used olive, until the sauce becomes thick-ish.

                       

The meat filling then had to be left to cool.

This gave me time to have messy fun turning the cake into chocolate covered lamingtons. 

I had to cut the cake into 15 squares, adding a layer of homemade strawberry jam. I then put them in the freezer for an hour. While they were firming up I made the chocolate icing - icing sugar, cocoa powder, butter and milk.

Making the chocolate icing.

A lamington production line!

Into the hot chocolate icing.

Tossed in the dessicated coconut

VOILA!!!! :D

While the icing on the Lamingtons was setting I put the meat sauce into the pie. You use shortcrust pastry for the base and puff pastry for the top then brush with egg or milk.

                        

It's ready!

                        

Australians like to eat their meat pie on a bed of mushy peas. We made them using last years frozen garden peas blended with milk and lemon juice - they were very green!

                       

Our Australian meal was accompanied by a bottle of Shiraz.

Followed by a cup of tea and a Lamington - or two!

I haven't use ground beef in a pie for years - if ever - it was rather good, if a little sweet. I guess the sweetness was because I used tomato ketchup rather than sauce but who just has a tablespoon of sauce sitting around? The Lamingtons were excellent, although we had made so many that we had to donate them to our son!