Our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world don’t just enjoy incredible weather and surroundings – they eat a lot of fantastic food, too.
Whether you're cosying up for winter or treating yourself on a Friday night, we know you Aussies can't get enough of these dishes. Check out our collection of gorgeous recipes inspired by the most popular dishes in Australia to cook at home. Enjoy!
Ask most Aussies what their favourite comfort food is and if they don’t say pie, they’re probably lying. This chicken and veg pie isn't just a tasty weeknight dish, it's easy on the wallet, too – an all-round winner!
MORE: Perfect pie recipes
Walk into any burger bar or restaurant in Australia and ask for “the lot” and watch in horror/delight as they pile on just about everything in the kitchen. From what we can tell it’s usually cheese, bacon, pineapple, beetroot (!), a beef tomato and lettuce. And that’s before the sauces. We can’t pretend to have a recipe for that, but here’s a perfect patty recipe, ready for you to load up with whatever your Aussie mate demands.
Sausage rolls are another naughty foodstuff close to the heart of Australians. Try these super-easy, super-delicious Jamie ones, and make sure you eat them warm.
Everybody loves a good banana bread, and Aussies are no exception. This is a super-easy recipe that's gorgeous as an afternoon pick-me-up, plus the best way to use up any overripe bananas you have knocking around.
Jazzed up with a couple of slices of streaky bacon, pancakes are the ultimate breakfast food, anywhere in the world.
Lasagne is always a crowd-pleaser. Use this recipe for a simplified veggie version that's packed full of flavour whilst being a brilliant budget-friendly option.
Just like us Brits, curry goes down a storm Down Under, too. This butter chicken is fresh, fragrant and ridiculously tasty – a great choice for curry night with family or friends.
Every good pizza has to have the perfect dough to get started. The dark rye in this recipe gives a gorgeous nutty flavour that you're gonna love. Top with whatever you fancy, but a chilli-spiked tomato sauce is guaranteed to impress.
A cultural icon (according to the National Trust of Queensland), the Lamington, a sweet sponge with a jam filling, even has a national day devoted to it. Named after its creator Lord Lamington, it’s dipped in chocolate and coated in coconut – which compares favourably to Jamie’s classic school pudding, the Jammy coconut sponge, simply because of the addition of chocolate.
While opening the Jamie’s Italians in Perth, Sydney and Canberra, we discovered that higher-welfare Australian beef is quite something. Judging by how it flies out of the kitchens every service, the Aussies love their steak, and this seared steak with red chimichurri sauce is an absolute hit.
To be honest, you can ignore the smoked salmon and eggs in this dish. We’ve picked it because Australians love a fried potato cake. Well, most people do – you can’t beat that crispy-then-soft texture. They can also be topped with almost anything, which makes them a favourite in homes and takeaways throughout Australia.
There isn’t a nation in the world that doesn’t deep-fry something, but we reckon beer-battered fish and chips is the ultimate. That flaky fresh fish with the crispy, ever-so-slightly oily batter is to die for, and perfect eaten while looking out to sea – and when you have as much coastline as Australia, that makes this a national dish.
Apparently New Zealanders claim ownership of the Pavlova too, and on both sides the story is the same: the dessert was named after the famous Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, following her tour of both countries in the 1920s. Quite why such a fattening treat was named after a professional dancer is unclear – maybe she was just very sweet.