Swan Wattle Seed Rotis

Significance of the Swan from Tagari lia

The children at Tagari lia Child and Family Centre at Bridgewater learnt about the swans that hatch their cygnets in the Derwent River around the Bridgewater Bridge.
The swan is the Aboriginal totem for the area of Bridgewater and is considered sacred.
The children learnt that two swans will stay together forever and that the babies are called cygnets. The cygnets hatch with white feathers, but as adults they have black feathers.
The Aboriginal people used to eat the swan eggs from Moulting Lagoon on the East Coast, during the nesting season. But this was done in a sustainable manner, with people requesting permission from the Swans to take 1 egg from a nest, but they would leave the others so that there would always be a strong population of swans.
Swan pairs were considered sacred and weren’t killed for food.

Wattle Seed Roti Bread

For the Rotis

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain bread flour
• Pinch of bush herb salt
• 1 tbsp. ground Wattle Seed
• 250 ml chilled water
• 80ml vegetable oil

Method:

• Combine flour and salt in a small bowl.
• Make a well in the flour and add the water, stirring to combine. Use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth.
• Flatten the dough into a disc and cut 8 equal portions.
• Shape each portion into a ball and roll out into a 20cm diameter disc.
• Brush the disc with a little oil. Roll into a log, coil into a scroll.
• Flatten the scroll into a disc and roll out again to 20 cm. Repeat with remaining dough portions.

Filling Mix for Rotis

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp minced Garlic
• 1 tsp ground Cumin
• 1 tsp ground Coriander
• 1 tsp dried Kunzea
• 1 tsp ground Wattle Seed
• 1 cup diced Carrots
• 1 cup diced cauliflower
• 1 cup diced potatoes
• 1 cup Peas
• 1 red capsicum, diced
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• Grated cheese

Method:

• Heat a little oil in a large saucepan.
• Add the herbs and garlic and cook for a minute or 2 over low heat.
• Add the vegetables and stock. Sauté until softened.
• Cool completely before using.

To assemble and cook:

• Spread some of the filling mix over one half of the un cooked roti. Fold the roti over the top, forming a semi circle and pressing the edges together to seal.
• Cut a line through the roti about 2 cm down from the straight edge along the top side, starting about 1/3 of the way in from the left-hand curved edge and go-ing all the way to the right-hand side.
• Gently pull this strip up and around to form the swan neck. Cut 2 more strips below this starting from the right-hand side, going into the middle.
• Gently pull apart to form the wings.
• Heat a little olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the swan rotis about 5 minutes either side, gently turning over so the roti stays intact.

Noodle Nests with Meatball Eggs

For the Noodle Nests:

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of instant noodles, flavour sachet discarded, boiled until soft.
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp dried Kunzea
• Plain flour as needed

Method:

• Pre heat oven to 190.
• Lightly grease muffin trays with oil spray.
• In a bowl mix the noodles, egg, oil, soy sauce and Kunzea. Add a little plain flour so that the mix is not too sloppy.
• Divide the mix between the muffin holes. Push the noodles down into the bottom of each hole and up around the sides, to form a nest shape.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and crispy.
  Remove from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the tray.

Mini Meatball ‘Eggs’

Ingredients:

• 500gm chicken mince
• 3 large slices of lean ham, chopped finely
• 1/4 tsp ground Mountain Pepper
• 1 tsp dried Kunzea
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped Flinders Island Celery
• 1/4 tsp bush herb salt
• 1 tsp ground Pepper Leaf
• 1 carrot, finely grated
• 1 zucchini, finely grated

Method:

• Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
• Mould into mini meatballs about the size of large grape.
• Pan fry in a lightly greased frying pan.
  Serve in noodle nests.

The Tasmanian Bush Food to Plate project was made possible through grant funding from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy Tasmania Community  Innovations Grants Scheme. The grant was auspiced for Bridgewater’s Child and Family Centre, tagari lia  by Liz Crane from the Child Health Association of Tasmania and has been facilitated in partnership with CHAT,  Family Food Patch and tagari lia. The project has been delivered during 2018, out of tagari lia, utilising the CFC’s existing bush food garden.