Spiced orange and olive oil dessert cake with botrytis oranges from Riverina, NSW. Photo / Supplied
Food writer Lyndey Milan and Ian "Herbie" Hempell travelled Australia in a 1961 Holden convertible, celebrating local ingredients eaten with colourful locals
1. Duck from Hawkesbury, coastal New South Wales
Pair crisp-skinned duck breast, spiced with ground coriander seed and five spice powder, with a sauce of pomegranate molasses, orange juice
and star anise.
2. Linguine with spanner crab and lemon myrtle, from Noosa
Spanner crab is available as fresh meat already out of the shell (find it at Nosh or good seafood markets). This is Herbie's favourite dish of the whole series. You can substitute lemon myrtle with lemon zest or very finely chopped lemongrass. Cook crab in cream, fish stock and white wine, finish with a sprig of dill.
3. Prawn moilee from Hawkesbury, coastal New South Wales
Lyndey brings the turmeric, curry leaves, chillies, garlic and ginger of southern India together in an easy coconut cream-based curry. The flavours are fresh, simple and highly characteristic of the cuisine of the region.
4. Spiced orange and olive oil dessert cake with botrytis oranges from Riverina, agricultural south-west New South Wales
Lyndey's favourite dish is a moist, almost fudge-like cake that has all the produce of Australia's Riverina: oranges, walnuts, olive oil and world-class dessert wine, enlivened with classic cake spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves).
