Australia has been on my travel list since the third grade when I picked it to do an extensive presentation on it. It was absolutely devastating seeing as the wildfires tore across the country just a few months ago.
When the random country generator pulled up Australia I was so excited, however I 
quickly realized I did not know very much about Australian cuisine besides knowing that Vegemite is an Australian staple. After doing some research, I realized that Australia is somewhat like America, it is strongly influenced by lots of the different cultures that make up the country! It was exciting to see but it made it difficult to pick a meal that represented Australia.
Ultimately we settled on a menu, in which I was so excited to make an Australian dessert staple – Pavlova!
Pavlova is something I had seen so many times being made on the Great British Baking Show but I never thought I would be making one and it intimidated me so much. A pavlova is delicate dessert made with whipped egg whites that is crispy on the outside and soft and pillowy in the inside , somewhat like a marshmallow but better, and it’s a perfect dessert for anyone looking for something that’s gluten free!
Menu
- Grilled Pineapple and Tofu Skewers with Spicy Mango BBQ
- Brown Rice
- Australian Sausage Rolls
- Aussie Meat Pie
- Kale Haloumi Salad
- Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Berries
Overall it was a great meal! The tofu and pineapple skewers were delicious and made for great leftovers as the bbq sauce intensified in flavor. As a vegetarian I did not have the rolls or pie, but they were also a success, no complaints at this dinner table! We used puff pastry on both and the egg wash gave them such a great golden color!
Kale Haloumi Salad Ingredients:
- Bunch of lacinato kale massaged with lemon juice
- 1 roasted sweet potato -cubed
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp cranberries
- Haloumi cheese – as much as you’d like!
- Dill Garlicky Greek Yogurt Dressing/dressing of your choice
The kale salad’s star is definitely the haloumi cheese! It was a little pricey but SO WORTH IT! The way to prepare it is simply heat up a pan and once it’s hot place the haloumi slices and you’ll see it sizzle. After a minute or so turn it over and you’ll see it is nice and crisp. Let it crisp up on the other side and enjoy while it is nice and hot! It’s so good!
Pavlova:
I followed the recipes linked above for the pavlovas, however I opted for making six mini pavlovas rather than one large one. This did cut down on the baking time and made it easier to share!
I topped them with the lemon curd recipe and fresh strawberries and blueberries. A light dusting of powdered sugar finished off the pavlovas! FYI I had some lemon curd leftover and it was great on french toast and mixed in with greek yogurt. I also opted for freezing some to see how it would hold and it was still tasty!
Piped them onto parchment paper, and they do not spread! 
After they completely cooled, I topped them with lemon curd, berries and powdered sugar!
Sweet Escape Kitchen 