Food for the Fallen: Commemorate the ANZACs with These Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Ideas

Whether it's an ANZAC biscuit with a cup of tea, a roast lamb dinner with the family or a good old Aussie BBQ with friends, food is a great way to celebrate ANZAC day.

For the men fighting at Gallipoli, fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy were hard things to come across. Most of their food was supplied from as far away as Egypt and Greece, and this, combined with the lack of refrigeration meant that foods consumed needed to have a good shelf life.

So what did they eat? Much of the ANZAC diet consisted of Bully beef (tinned corn beef), rice, jam, cocoa, tea, bread and hard tack. Hard tack, also known as "ANZAC Wafer", has a very long shelf life and was far more commonly handed out than bread. Very plain in flavour, some soldiers would mix their hard tack with water to make porridge.

But we're not suggesting you sit down to a meal of Gallipoli rations. You can commemorate ANZAC in a flavoursome way with some of these great recipes:

ANZAC biscuits

Nothing is more synonymous with ANZAC Day than the taste of a traditional ANZAC biscuit. Sent to the boys on the front by loved ones, ANZAC biscuits are still a popular favourite. Better yet, they're easy to make and incredibly delicious.

Ingredients (makes 24)

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup dessicated coconut
125g butter
1 tbs golden syrup
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbs boiling water
Method

• Preheat oven to 180ºC and grease a baking tray.
• In a large bowl, mix oats, flour, sugar and coconut.
• In a small saucepan, add syrup and butter and melt over a low heat. Mix the baking soda and boiling water together and then add to syrup mix. (Mixture should bubble a lot.)
• Add dry ingredients and scoop drops of mixture using a teaspoon onto the tray.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Now that they ANZAC biscuits are out of the way, what about breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas?

Breakfast

Oat pancakes with banana

Adding oats to your pancakes and topping them with banana will help keep you full for longer and using wholemeal flour, are a healthier alternative to other sweetened pancakes. Top with a little maple syrup and wrap and freeze any leftover pancakes for lunches.

Homemade muesli

It's hard to beat a good homemade muesli and today, it's one of the staples handed out on the front line. Mix together rolled oats, rice bran, bran flakes, slivered almonds, unprocessed wheat bran, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and flaked coconut in a bowl. Warm some honey and juice in the microwave and add to bowl before mixing well. Spread mixture on a baking tray lined with paper and toast for half an hour. Once cooled, add some dried fruits like apricots, cranberries, figs, apple, banana chips and sultanas. Store in an airtight container.

Lunch

Aussie meat pie

You've got to love a traditional Aussie meat pie, and it makes a great lunch before heading to the pub for a game of Two Up. Traditional meat pies are made using minced beef and flavoured with worcestershire sauce, but if you fancy something a little more gourmet, try using chunks of beef shoulder or even some slow roasted lamb.

Turkey and cheese bagel

Pay homage to Turkey and the friendship formed between our countries by topping some onion-flavoured bagels with cranberry sauce, thinly sliced turkey and a good blue cheese. Grill for a few minutes and then serve hot with some orange wedges and a salad.

Tepsi boregi (borek)

Another one to acknowledge the soils where the ANZAC tradition was born is borek, traditional Turkish pastries that come in all shapes and sizes. You can fill your pastries with anything you like, but traditionally, boreks are filled with cheese, spinach and meat. You could also try adding a cooked mashed potato for an extra something.

Dinner

Pot roast beef with braised vegetables

A fraction of the price of premium roasting cuts, this pot roast could almost be thought of as ration food. Except for the fact in tastes so delicious! Slow cook a 1.5kg rolled and tied beef blade with some bacon, carrots, onion, garlic, tinned tomatoes, red wine, beef stock and halved new potatoes. Once you plate the beef and vegetables, return the dish to the stove and make a rich sauce using a cornflour paste. Yum!

Roast lamb

As two countries filled with sheep (New Zealand perhaps a little more so), what better meal to have than roast lamb. Roast alongside unwashed white and sweet potatoes, butternut pumpkin and serve with green beans and carrots.

Dessert

Pavlova

ANZAC Day is said to mark the great friendship between Australia and New Zealand. And while we may not be able to agree over which of our nations invented the pavlova, we can certainly all agree that it's delicious, so put your differences aside and celebrate comradery between Aussies and Kiwis with this traditional dessert.

Golden syrup ANZAC cheesecake

Image via Taste

What better way to mark the centenary of WWI than by putting a twist on the ANZAC biscuit to create a full blown dessert. This rich cheesecake is pure indulgence and the golden syrup caramel dives it a decadent flavour.

Table decorations

If you want to go even further with your food celebration, why not try decorating the table with some of these great ideas?

• Scatter some silk red poppies along a table runner
• Hang a traditional ANZAC wreath and then lay on your nearest memorial once your guests have left
• Place a sprig of rosemary on each dinner plate, tied with a red ribbon
• Hang an Australian flag or go all out with Aussie flag toothpicks, paper plates and cups
• Use a green and gold theme

Other traditions

While at the table, why not incorporate one of these following traditions?

• One minute's silence to remember fallen soldiers
• Recite Laurence Binyon's famous poem "For the Fallen"
• Play a recording of the "Last Post"
• Sing a traditional hymn as sung at ANZAC Day services

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Mireille Kilgour

Mireille Kilgour has been an entrepreneur for 35 years in the hospitality sector. French born, she has been an accomplished business owner and operator for a number of Sydney venues. Leading the industry with high profile institutions such as Lamrock Café Bondi, she has endless passion for the industry, and now has the pleasure of supporting restaurants to fill their tables with the new Good Food Gift Card program.

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