Matariki loves to bring people together and connect them with our environment.

So, gather your friends and whānau to celebrate Matariki. Feast on food and bring prosperity and good fortune into the year ahead.

Make sure you acknowledge the value of healthy kai as a taonga for achieving wellbeing. Traditional Māori vegetables include Kūmara, Taewa (Māori potatoes), Kamo Kamo, Taro, Puha (similar to cabbage) and Uwhi (yam) can be used in combination with other ingredients to make delicious and healthy meals for your whānau and friends.

Discover how Westfield Coomera is celebrating Matariki this year here.

You can find all the ingredients you need at The Fruit Depot, Coles, and Woolworths. Looking to upgrade your serving dishes? Try House for everything you need.

Here’s our lunch or dinner ideas, perfect for celebrating each day with family and friends.

Kiwi kumara and mussel fritters

Waitā surveys our vast oceans, Te Moana-nui-o-Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean) and Te Tai-o-Rehua (the Tasman Sea), so what better way to celebrate than with a unique spin on delicious New Zealand Mussels?

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 3 Eggs (Main)
• ½ cup Self-raising flour
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 sprinkle Black pepper, freshly ground
• ⅓ cup Buttermilk
• 24 Mussels, fresh, tightly closed in shells (Main)
• 1 medium Kumara (Main)
• 1 Onion, finely diced
• ½ cup Chopped fresh coriander or parsley
• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped (choose a mild chilli)
• 1 Lemon, zest and juice
• 1 knob fresh ginger, grated (a small piece)
• 1 drizzle Olive oil, or butter, for frying 100 g baby spinach

Directions

1. To make the batter, beat eggs, self-raising flour, salt, a good grind of fresh black pepper and buttermilk (or milk) to form a smooth batter. Chill to rest.
2. Steam fresh (they should all be closed tightly) mussels until shells open and they're just cooked. Remove mussel meat from shells and chop into small dice. Cut 1 medium kumara into quarters and boil until tender. Cool, peel and chop into small dice.
3. Add the mussels and kumara to a mixing bowl. Add onion, coriander (or parsley), chilli, lemon zest and grated ginger and mix together. Add the batter and the lemon juice and stir to combine.
4. Heat a non-stick pan and fry large spoonfuls (⅓ cup) of mix in a little olive oil or butter so they cook evenly on both sides (reserve them in a clean tea towel in a warm oven as you go).
5. To serve, squeeze with lemon, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve on a slice of buttered bread with a fennel and mustard mayo, or a sweet chilli sauce.
   Recipe credit: New World.

Rolled roasted lamb loin

This delectable dish with a wide array of ingredients symbolises the important eco system of Aotearoa, from the vegetables we eat, to the grass that the lambs eat.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1 bunch Silverbeet, a small one, leaves only (Main)
• 5 Dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 Spring onion, chopped
• 1 handful Mint, a large one, leaves picked
• 1 clove Garlic, crushed in ½ tsp salt
• 1 knob fresh ginger, a small one, grated
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• 1 drizzle Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Sausages, we used lamb and rosemary ones, the meat squeezed out from the casings (Main)
• ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 250 g Lamb backstraps, or striploin (Main)

Directions

1. To make the stuffing: Blanch the silverbeet leaves (discard the stems) in boiling, salted water until just tender. Refresh in cold water, squeeze dry and roughly chop.
2. Add silverbeet to food processor with finely chopped dates, spring onion, mint leaves, crushed garlic, ginger, smoked paprika, cumin, the lime zest and juice and some fresh black pepper. Add a glug of olive oil and blitz to combine into a chunky paste. Add to a bowl with the sausage meat and the panko crumbs. Mix well.
3. Using a sharp knife, carefully open out a lamb blackstrap or striploin onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Fold over the wrap and gently bash out the meat to form a large flat "schnitzel" (approximately 27x20cm).
4. Press the stuffing across the meat, neatly roll into a log, tucking in the ends as you go, and secure it with cooking twine. Chill until ready to roast.
5. To cook, season the roll with salt and pepper, sear in a hot grill pan to colour all over, then roast in a hot oven (200-220C) for 20-30 minutes until cooked through. Remove, cover and rest for 5 minutes before removing twine and slicing on the diagonal to serve.
6. Serve as a spring/summer roast with oven-baked potato or kumara skins, fresh asparagus and a hearty salad. You can also chill and slice it cold, to serve with pickles, chutneys, cheese and fresh bread for a ploughman's lunch.
   Recipe credit: NZ Herald

Matariki roast duck

Matariki is about bringing people together and if you really want to wow your friends and whanau, ditch the chicken and try your hand at a delicious roast pārera (duck). While pārera takes a little bit longer to cook than a chicken, when it’s done it will melt in your mouth and the added horopito gives a delicious, savoury pepperiness making this a Matariki to remember!

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1 Duck, whole (Main)
• 2 Tbsp Horopito seasoning, or Simon Gault's Kiwi seasoning
• 1 kg Baby potatoes
• 1 Olive oil, to rub the duck

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Place duck on a rack in a roasting tray and rub with horopito and lots of salt and olive oil. Place in the oven.
2. After the duck has roasted for an hour, take the tray out of the oven and remove the duck and rack. reserve the fat. In a clean roasting tray add the potatoes and place the rack and duck over the potatoes. Spoon over 2 Tbsp of the reserved fat over the potatoes and toss to coat. Season well with salt. return to the oven for another hour.
3. Remove the duck from the oven and cover loosely with tin foil and leave to rest for about 15 minutes.
4. The best way to eat the duck is to pull the meat away from the bones with a pair of tongs or your fingers wearing kitchen gloves then let everyone fight over the delicious skin! Serve with your potatoes and your choice of winter greens.
   Recipe credit: NZ Herald

Kumara and watercress soup

Waitī watches over our freshwater environments. Our awa (rivers), roto (lakes), kūkūwai (wetlands), and waipuna (springs) – to name just a few. As the waters flow, she sees how they support us, provide for us, connect us, and sustain us. This vegetable delight is a perfect representation of the beauty and sustainability that Waitī provides us every day.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 25g Butter
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 800 g Red kumara, peeled, cut into even-sized pieces (Main)
• 1 Ltr Chicken stock, good quality
• 100 g Watercress, plus a few bites reserved for garnish
• 1 cup Cream, or milk
• 1 Red kumara, peeled and sliced thinly, to serve
• 1 tsp Oil, to serve

Directions

1. In a large pot melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic. Saute for 4 or 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Add the kumara and stock. Cover and cook for 20 minutes until the kumara is completely soft. Add the watercress and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
2. Using a stick blender or kitchen blender puree until very smooth. Return to a clean pot.
3. For the garnish, heat an oven to 180C. Place the sliced kumara in a single layer onto a lined baking dish. Rub completely with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 20 minutes until golden and crispy.
4. Reheat the soup, add the cream, season with salt and pepper. Serve hot with crispy kumara chips on top and a little watercress to decorate.
   Recipe credit: NZ Herald

Silverbeet gratin

Celebrate Tupu-ā-nuku and edible plants with this fantastic vegetarian dish that’s sure to please even the hardiest of meat lovers.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 60g Butter
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 bunch Silverbeet (Main)
• 2 Garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 cups Milk
• 2 Tbsp Flour
• ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 Lemon, for 1 tsp of rind
• 3 slices Sourdough bread, roughly chopped
• 1 to drizzle Olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220C.
2. Melt 20g of butter in a large saucepan over high heat. Separate the leaves and stalks of the silverbeet and chop. Cook stalks, onions and garlic for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the leaves and cook for 3-5 minutes or until wilted. Set aside.
3. Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add the milk and cook, whisking, for 5-7 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir through 1/4 of a cup of parmesan and lemon rind.
4. Add to the silverbeet mixture and mix well to combine. Spoon into an 8 cup capacity ovenproof dish. Toss the bread with the remaining parmesan and sprinkle over the silverbeet.
5. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp.
   Recipe credit: NZ Herald