Modern Australian

It is important to slice the limes as thinly as possible because the rind tends to be tougher than any other citrus fruit. Note

We used a strong, stilton-like blue cheese in this recipe. Note

These treats are best served while warm. Note

The kids will adore these little white chocolate cups with strawberries and fruche. For a more adult version, leave out the fruche and dip the strawberries in white chocolate before arranging them in the cups.

You will need 1 large (230g) over-ripe banana and 1 medium (120g) carrot for this recipe. Note

You could use any dried fruit instead of the sultanas. Dried cranberries would be the best combination with apples for this excellent dessert. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream to top it off. Note

Have you always wanted to roast a goose for Christmas day? Here's your chance with this simple recipe. Don't let the addition of chicken giblets put you off, they help the stuffing graduate from delicious to amazing!

Elegance and simplicity is what this stunning cake is all about. The styrofoam discs are used to support the flowers between each layer. Use artificial flowers, if you prefer.

Quinoa (keen-wa) is a gluten- free seed, with cooking qualities similar to rice. It is available from health food shops or delis. Note

Sticky, tasty honey and soy marinated chicken wings are a perennial favourite with young and old alike. Great for parties, after school and at the dinner table.

This green pea soup couldn't be easier to make, and is livened up immeasurably with the addition of mint pistou. A great light supper on a warm summer evening.

It's one of those classic pairings, like cookies and cream or peanut butter and chocolate. These lemon meringues will suit everyone, from sweet-tooth lovers to those of us who appreciate something with a little more zest.

You'll definitely be wanting plenty of toast soldiers to dip in this freshly cooked soft-boiled egg.

Warm, comforting and packed with gorgeous veggies, this soup acts as a perfect pick-me-up on a cold day.

There are many flavours in this exquisite chocolate winter pudding, lavender, honey, chocolate and orange, that mingle and flow together to create something rather beautiful.

Serving up a whole fish for dinner always makes an impact, and this powerfully spicy ginger and chilli baked fish is no exception.

A genuine Australian classic, pumpkin scones are best scoffed warm and spread with lashings of butter.

This olive oil and garlic mashed potato is smooth, buttery and deliciously garlicky. If you prefer a milder, sweeter garlic flavour, you can add the cloves, uncrushed, to the water while the potatoes boil and then mash it all together.

This recipe is designed to work in a camp oven, but you can use a conventional oven instead, if desired. Place the roasting/baking dish with oven juices on a stove to make sauce.

This appetising soup is jam-packed with as many spices as it is vegetables. From chorizo chunks to paprika, cumin and saffron you'll be wowed with the amount of flavour packed into every mouthful.

Delight both children and adults with these top-quality homemade sausage rolls and pizza spirals.

Salt cod is a Mediterranean delicacy and can be bought from speciality stores.

Delight your loved ones at Easter time or just as a special dessert with these white chocolate and passionfruit mousse eggs.

When the kids get home from school starving, it's a good time to slip something healthy on their plate. We've got four recipes here, muffins, smoothie, fruit dip and quesadillas, that are perfect.

These crispbreads with cheesy carrot and sultana filling make a great sandwich substitute for a healthy lunchbox.

Healthy, nutritious and more likely to be eaten than chucked in the bin - the holy grail of lunchbox packing. This mediterranean tuna baguette ticks all the right boxes and is easily adjusted to suit individual likes and dislikes.

A delicious and easy recipe for spiced fried fish with lemon pistachio couscous. We used bream here, but you can use any firm white fish fillet, such as perch, blue eye or ling.

Low-fat yoghurt and crushed weetbix make this brekky berry smoothie a complete breakfast in its own right.

For a fresh, fabulous and easy mid-week dinner you can't go past these roasted beetroot, feta and rocket pitta bread pizzas. They're easy to throw together and simply delicious.

A rich, smooth and warming soup that makes a great starter, a lovely light dinner or a warming winter weekend lunch. This roasted capsicum soup goes well with fried polenta slices.

Light, zesty and crumbly, these beautiful shortbread biscuits are beautiful enjoyed with a cup of tea or given as gifts to loved ones.

This classic Italian dish is pure comfort food with layers upon layers of melted cheese, pasta and hearty beef mince.

Everyone loves a perfectly cooked steak, especially topped with delicious herb butter, and this recipe does exactly what it says on the tin. Best served with freshly made french fries.

Dashi is the basic stock used in nearly every Japanese dish, from a spoonful or two in dipping sauces to greater amounts in the broths of one-pan dishes, such as the udon noodle soup we've made here.

Cool, fresh and fruity, this tasty kiwi and mint frappe makes the ultimate drink for a hot Summer's day.

Refreshing and full of flavour, this peach and raspberry juice is also pretty good spiked with a dash of vodka or white rum.

Warm your body and soul with this creamy sweet potato and fennel soup. It's beautiful served hot straight off the stove-top, topped with crisp parmesan wafers to create a delicious dinner.

Maple syrup brings out the natural sweetness of baby carrots while a touch of zesty orange intensifies their flavour. Orange is a great companion flavour for carrots, and a quick squeeze will lift most carrot-based recipes.

Cooking fish on the bone adds bags of flavour to the flaky white flesh. Make this spiced version the star of your next special meal.

These tasty little spinach and corn pasties are sure to be a firm favourite with young and old. Great for lunches, after-school snacks and lunchboxes.

A clear lunch-box winner, packed with fruit and fibre, these banana, craisin and macadamia muffins are utterly delicious.

To add real zing to a pile of fluffy mashed potatoes, there's nothing like adding a handful of freshly-grated parmesan cheese. The better the cheese, the better the mash will be. In a pinch, you can use ready flaked parmesan from a packet, but the ready-grated stuff doesn't really cut the mustard here.

Perfect with a dollop of cream and a coffee, this orange and passionfruit cake is fruity, sweet and deliciously dense.

The very best thing to serve with cheese, these oat biscuits are earthy, crumbly and just the right side of sweet. If you like, you can replace 60gm of the flour with unprocessed bran.

Assuming you find yourself with left-over doughnuts to hand, a big assumption granted, there's no better way to eat them than grilled with maple syrup.

Make ahead: This recipe can be made a day ahead. Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Note

This nourishing beef and barley soup makes a satisfying and hearty one-dish meal for any season.

A modern take on the classic Aussie steak sandwich, scotch fillet smothered in caramelised leeks and chilli tomato jam makes for a magic mouthful.

Fresh ginger dressing really brings this prawn and avocado salad to life. Perfect for a light lunch on the deck with friends, served with crusty bread and dry white wine.

Sweet brandy-spiked apricot is topped with a gingery almond topping in this delicious take on the classic crumble.

Coconutty crumble is the perfect topping for the rich fruit filling of this date and lemon slice, a true tea-time classic.

This dessert is something else, sweet, crisp and fragrant champagne jelly studded with ripe stone fruit and juicy raspberries. A sophisticated end to a lovely dinner party.

Lighter than custard, lemon chiffon cream adds a citrus kick to this fruity mango trifle. Revel in some old-fashioned indulgence with layers of jelly, fruit, sponge fingers and cream.

For an easy, elegant dessert, try these decadent sandwiches of golden puff pastry, juicy berries and custard cream.

Really, you can add any mushroom you like to this dish, and all mushroom lovers will have a favourite or three they can't go past. Mixed garlic mushrooms is an earthy, garlicky dish to savour.

Two dozen oysters on shaved ice topped with our red wine vinegar or spicy lime dressing is a perfect party platter.

Now an established classic in the honour roll of great cookie recipes, these white chocolate and macadamia cookies are crisp on the edges and deliciously chewy inside. The perfect mid-afternoon indulgence.

This beautiful ice-cream is packed full of sweet, juicy rhubarb and crushed ginger biscuits for ultimate flavour and texture.

Three fabulous greens in one dish, this buttery, herby dish of leeks, zucchini and asparagus is an ideal side dish for almost any meat-based main.

Soft, sweet and mild pear makes the perfect sidekick for tart rhubarb in this delicious sponge-topped pudding. Serve with double cream or ice-cream.

Treacle is sweeter than molasses, but not as sweet as golden syrup, and it has a slightly bitter taste. If you don't have any treacle you can make these little gingerbread loaves with golden syrup but may want to remove one tablespoon of sugar from the recipe.

Savour a slice of this moist rhubarb and coconut cake with a cup of tea or coffee and a big dollop of whipped cream to complement the sweetness.

Sweet, fruity and zesty, this pineapple, passionfruit and coconut dish is beautiful enjoyed on it's own or with a dollop of cream or ice-cream.

We used red sensation pears for this delicious pear and fennel salad with honey mustard dressing, but any firm-fleshed pear will do. The combination of astringent fennel, tartly sweet pear and mustardy dressing is sensational.

A classic family favourite, this beautiful roast chicken dish is full of flavour from the baked fennel and garlic, and best of all you can cook almost the whole meal in one pan.

Pikelets, as we know them, are a uniquely Australian and New Zealand phenomenon. In some parts of the world, asking for a pikelet will result in either a crumpet or an oatcake rather than fluffy little pancakes.

The slightly astringent flavour of quince is the perfect foil to the sweet creaminess of cheesecake, especially when doused in fresh lemon juice. This quince and vanilla cheesecake has our favourite granita biscuit base. Yum.

This recipe really couldn't be easier, it's a simple mix and cook tart that is seriously delicious.

These creamy bite-sized blue cheese and garlic tarts are beautiful enjoyed as a finger food for a fancy dinner party or a light weekend snack.

Temper the sweetness of caramel slice by adding a layer of delicious hazelnuts.

This rocket, avocado and macadamia salad is a study in contrasting textures and tastes; peppery rocket leaves, creamy mild avocado and crunchy macadamia nuts. Divine.

Similar to creme caramel, cinnamon flan has the same delicate custard base topped with a burnt sugar caramel, but with added spice.

This delicious, layered nutty chocolate and coffee ice-cream cake is topped with a layer of tender pistachios and toffee coated almonds. An altogether grown-up take on the classic ice-cream cake.

To make a super quick dressing for this dish, just stir some of the chives through sour cream and serve on the side.

Fish fillets with a couscous crust are light and super-crispy. Delicious served with a tangy caper mayonnaise.

Tender, succulent lamb shanks and creamy black-eye beans together make a hearty soup. Serve with crusty bread and a liberal sprinkling of freshly chopped coriander.

Burnt butter adds a gourmet edge to this delicious apple cake. Perfect for an afternoon tea-party, or just because you fancy something special on the weekend.

Brighten up a cold morning with this indulgent cinnamon toast with caramelised apples, the perfect dish for a celebratory brunch.

Like a pared back version of Eton mess, with strawberries alone rather than a mix of berries, this strawberry meringue cream also has a shot of liqueur to spice things up.

These cakes supposedly take their name from the powder puffs used by women to dust on face powder. Whatever the provenance, strawberries and cream powder puffs are light, airy and absolutely delicious.

This is a simple, savoury dish that hits just the right spot on a cold, dark evening. The port gravy is the perfect accompaniment, and is best poured with a free hand.

Sweet, golden and crumbly, these beautiful lemon zest polenta biscuits are brilliant enjoyed with a mug of coffee or tea for a morning or afternoon treat.

The caramel frosting has a cheeky burnt sugar edge that serves as the perfect pairing for this indulgent mud cake. It's an excellent teatime cake, and the perfect post-dinner dessert.

A quick, simple and delectable rocket salad that's the perfect accompaniment to any meal. Peppery rocket needs very little added excitement, just a little red onion and a classic vinaigrette.

If you want to whip up something a little bit fancy in a flash, this rocky road ice-cream is brilliant. You can make it as simple or gourmet as you like, we used Cherry Ripe instead of plain chocolate.

Super quick to put together and pretty as a picture, these warm caramel sundaes will win you lots of new friends. Any leftover caramel sauce can be kept in the fridge for another day.

Smoked chicken lends its unique taste to this crisp pear and radicchio salad with a red wine vinaigrette. If the flavour of smoked chicken isn't a favourite, use a store-bought barbecue chicken in its place.

This crisp, biscotti-style chocolate almond bread makes a satisfying snap when you bite into it. Unless, of course, it's thoroughly dunked in your coffee first.

Stuffed full of peanuts and peanut butter, these gluten-free peanut cookies are nutty, chewy and a little bit addictive.

Add a tropical touch to these caramelised pineapple slices by stirring some desiccated coconut through the icecream, and drizzling passionfruit pulp over the fruit.

A great source of both fibre and vitamins, plus calcium.

A traditional baba tin is the best option for this zesty lime syrup cake, but you can use an ordinary ring or loaf tin.

It's actually quite easy to skin whole hazelnuts. Just roast in a moderate oven for 10-15 minutes, then wrap in a tea-towel for one minute for the steam to loosen the skins, rub inside the towel to remove skins and then cool.

A favourite Aussie starter dish, salt and pepper squid is beautiful enjoyed on it's own as an entree or accompanied with this fresh cucumber salad for a more substantial main meal.