As the Boomers prepare for the second game of their Olympic campaign against Canada at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Paris tomorrow night, let’s get ready to cheer them on in style.
The bronze-medal winning team from three years ago beat formidable opponent Spain 92-80 in the first match and now prepares to face the seventh in the world-ranked hoopers in a widely anticipated clash. Australia – despite finishing third at the last Olympics – is currently ranked fifth in the world behind USA, Spain, Germany and Serbia.
Patty Mills and the crew impressed in a warm-up game in Abu Dhabi when they downed Nicola Jokic and the Serbian team in an unexpected 84-73 win after narrowly losing to the star-studded USA team boasting the likes of LeBron James, Jason Tatum and Steph Curry.
The 35-year-old captain and former Australian flag bearer is playing in his fifth Olympic games – alongside Joe Ingles and legend Lauren Jackson - and is an inspiration to indigenous athletes the world over with his never-say-die attitude.
As you warm up for the action, here are five Aussie recipes to stave off hunger and slam dunk our way to victory:
This recipe – from native ingredient food queen Mindy Woods - is a true taste and visual reflection of desert country – crispy, lightly-fried saltbush branches as gnarly and beautiful as they would be under the heat of the desert sun.
"Our food was not just an ingredient our old people took from Country - it was a way they formed a relationship with their land. Our food often has three to four cultural uses and our crispy saltbush helps us share that story with our guests,” Mindy explains.
Evolving over time, this dish heroes the unique local Australian lemon myrtle flavour, alongside crispy pancetta-wrapped Humpty Doo barramundi, making it an ideal pre-game dinner winner that will never be an air ball.
This is a delicious main from Aussie Chef and TV personality Ben O’Donoghue that is an earthy mix of gamey meat and native ingredients along with kecap manis – an Indonesian soy sauce that can be found in Asian supermarkets, or the international aisle of large supermarkets.
If you don’t have any, use soy sauce with a little soft brown sugar.
Uniquely Australian and fascinatingly cooked, this recipe from Firedoor mastermind, Lennox Hastie, combines high in natural fat pipis with a simple olive oil and lemon dressing to bring out the subtle flavours.
"Pipis were once put aside as something used for bait, but are now recognised as a sustainable seafood,” Lennox says. "Each shell is its own cooking vessel and when you add fire, the visual activity is amazing as each one pops open and is taken off the grill.”
If you love pesto, we’ve found your next go-to side dish this Winter - this potato salad offers crispiness and sweetness. Warrigal greens are blitzed to create an easy, homemade pesto which goes perfectly with crispy roast potatoes. Garnish with a sprinkle of caramelised macadamia nuts for a tasty side dish for your Winter dinners.
