The Australian outback has approximately 5000 different native food species. The Australian Indigenous people have a distinctive and innovative relationship with land and food, collecting nectar from bottlebrush flowers or honey from ants’ abdomens.

Sounds a little different to our drive down to the supermarket for ready-made snags for the holiday season, right? Unfortunately, with the loss of traditional land came the loss of this gorgeous and revolutionary style of foraging and cooking many years ago.

Luckily, there’s been a culinary uplift in Australian native foods over the last few years. Everyone from the home cook to the two-hatted chef has been embracing macadamia nuts, finger limes and even kangaroo meat. We’re so fortunate to have some of the most distinctive flavours within our flora. It’s time to expand your mind and taste buds to our very own home-grown heroes. Plus, there are plenty of ways to incorporate these fresh ingredients into your holiday meals.

Let’s start with Kakadu plums. These are about the size of an olive and have a dry and astringent taste, but what they lack in size and sweetness, they make up for in health benefits.

Kakadu plums contain almost 50 times more vitamin C than oranges! Traditionally, Indigenous Australians used this exceptional ingredient as an antiseptic and a soothing balm for aching limbs. Kakadu plum is excellent in sweet recipes, and fair dinkum, do I have the recipe for you!

My Kakadu Plum and Blueberry Ice Cream is perfect for those among us with a sweet tooth. You can purchase Kakadu plum or gubinge powder online in health food stores and find my delicious recipe below. Before you do, though, let’s play a game: guess what ingredient I am.

I’m a fruit with a zesty flavour, in the shape of a finger? Any guesses? You got it — the finger lime! This local ripper fruit, bursting with zest, tastes slightly tart and citrusy. Finger lime is rich in vitamin C, folate, vitamin E and potassium, and acts as a protective antioxidant in human cells. Try it in dressings, jams and sauces.

And now for the ingredient of the hour, the humble wattleseed. The love child of coffee and chocolate, who wouldn’t want to dig right in? This unsung hero is high in protein, is as versatile as ingredients come, and has high concentrations of potassium, calcium, iron and zinc.

Celebrate Australia’s gorgeous native ingredients by diving into my Wattleseed and Lemon Biscuit recipe below. They are a wonderful treat with a cup of good Aussie afternoon tea.

Kakadu Plum & Blueberry Ice Cream

Serves: 2

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Wattleseed & Lemon Biscuits

Makes 16–20

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Have fun incorporating these ingredients into your meals!