WE COULD ALL DO WITH AN AUNT WITH THE WISDOM, GENEROSITY AND COOKING SKILLS OF AUNTY BERYL. TRUE TO CHARACTER, HER COOKBOOK SHARES THESE REMARKABLE TALENTS
Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo OAM is a respected Gamilaroi elder, educator, mentor and businesswoman from Walgett, New South Wales. She moved to Sydney at 16 and, at 31, completed a TAFE diploma in hospitality. She later taught at Petersham TAFE and founded a Home and Work Opportunities for Aboriginal Women course at Eora TAFE in Redfern. Aunty Beryl established the Job Ready program at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence.
She has run several cafe kitchens and owns a catering business, called Yaama Barrgay, which means “hello, family and friends” in Yuwaalaraay, which employs First Nations staff. She also advises top chefs including Kylie Kwong, René Redzepi and Neil Perry on bush foods.
I used to sell lemon myrtle butter biscuits at Eveleigh Markets, and they became very popular. I suppose you could say I became known for these biscuits. Chef Kylie Kwong would come and buy them from me at the markets, and I even had customers who would order them a week ahead to make sure they didn’t miss out. You might want to make double this recipe — once your family and friends taste them, they’ll be gobbled up.
MAKES 18–24
- 2 cups (300g) self-raising fl our, plus
- extra for dusting
- 1 tablespoon lemon myrtle powder
- 180g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg, whisked
- ½ cup (110g) caster sugar
- Cooking oil spray, for greasing
Place the flour and lemon myrtle in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg and sugar and mix with your hands until combined and a dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 20 minutes to rest.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Spray 2 baking trays with oil, then line with baking paper.
Knead the dough on a clean, lightly floured work surface until smooth. Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 20 minutes to rest.
Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until 1–2cm thick. Using a scone cutter, cut the dough to your desired size. Arrange on the prepared trays, allowing room for spreading.
Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until cooked through.
Remove from the oven and transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool completely.
