Most Aussies will be looking forward to the long weekend approaching. What are your plans for Australia Day? Will there be something special on the menu? Maybe it will be a traditional range of dishes in your family or authentically Australian food (or both)?

Our Australian meat industry certainly links being a true Aussie to having lamb on Australia Day. They have a huge campaign every year to boost this idea. And admittedly, lamb chops on the barbie sounds quite delicious and will likely appeal to a large part of our population.

However, “shrimp on the barbie” is an often quoted Australian phrase that originated in a series of TV ads run by the tourism industry from 1984 to 1990. It may be that we consider most foods we cook on the barbie as being more Australian, or maybe we allow advertising campaigns to steer our thinking about what qualifies as true Aussie food.

What will you consider to be an authentic Australian dish? The humble meat pie, snaggers, prawns, lamb chops, rissoles, fish & chips, a roast, pavlova, traditional damper, lamingtons, fairy bread or the good old Vegemite sandwich?? I am sure everyone who reads this, will be able to add their idea to the list (or remove some)!

Below you will find a few links to some yummy recipes, in case you need some help planning your Aussie day menu. But remember, whatever you decide to have this Australia day, ensure it is a happy celebration of the wonderful privilege it is to be Australian! Enjoy!

Aussie lamb – http://www.australian-lamb.com/Lamb/Cooking_with_Lamb/Cooking_Methods/

Aussie shrimp on the barbie – http://bbq.about.com/od/seafoodrecipes/r/bln0320a.htm

Australian meat pie recipe – http://www.readersdigest.com.au/australian-meat-pie-recipe

Rissoles – http://alldownunder.com/australian-food/rissoles-recipe.htm

Pavlova – http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/24134/traditional+pavlova