Air frying has completely changed the speed and convenience for home cooking – and Jamie Oliver loves it too.
“Without question, it’s a super useful piece of cooking equipment,” says the 49-year-old chef, whose latest cookbook is Easy Air Fryer.
“Oven chips are magnificent in the air fryer, but there’s so much more to it than that. I wanted to go beyond the usual.
“The air fryer is really useful if you have a family, with kids turning up at different times of the day. Because, let’s face it, the idea of the whole family sitting together at the table only happens about twice a week – so, when you have children coming back from after-school clubs hungry, you can bang something in the air fryer and have it on the table in no time at all.”
Here are three recipes to try.
Posh fish and chips
Hands on: 22 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
2-drawer air fryer
Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
500g potatoes
Olive oil
1 free-range egg
½tsp smoked paprika
10g Parmesan cheese
1 thick slice of seeded wholemeal bread (40g)
2 x 130g salmon fillets, skin on, scaled, pin-boned, from sustainable sources
1tbsp plain flour
1 x 340g jar of baby cornichons
160g frozen peas
2 sprigs of mint
Method:
1. Scrub the potatoes, chop lengthways into two centimetre-wedges, place in the large air-fryer drawer, toss with one tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, and arrange in a single layer. Cook for 30 minutes at 200ºC, or until golden and cooked through, shaking halfway.
2. Beat the egg, paprika and a little seasoning in a shallow bowl. Finely grate the Parmesan into a food processor, tear in the bread, add one tablespoon of oil and blitz into fine crumbs, then spread across a plate.
3. Dust the salmon with the flour, then dip into the egg mixture, letting any excess drip off. Coat in the breadcrumbs, spending a bit of time really patting them on. Evenly space in the small drawer and cook for 10 minutes at 200ºC, or until golden and just cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, to make a gherkin ketchup, empty the jar of cornichons, and half their juice, into the food processor and blitz until smooth. Spoon out two portions, then pour the rest back into the jar and pop it in the fridge for future meals, where it will keep happily for up to two weeks.
5. Cook the peas for four minutes in boiling salted water, then drain, reserving a little cooking water. Tip them into the food processor (there’s no need to clean it), pick in the mint leaves and blitz, loosening with splashes of reserved water, if needed, then season to perfection and cover to keep warm.
6. Serve up the fish and chips with the minty peas and gherkin ketchup.
Energy: 725kcal
Fat: 22.4g
Sat Fat: 4.4g
Protein: 64.6g
Carbs: 69.8g
Sugars: 5.4g
Salt: 0.9g
Fibre: 8.9g
Teriyaki pork ribs
Hands on: 6 minutes
Cook: 55 minutes
1-drawer air fryer
Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
40g caster sugar
40ml low-salt soy sauce
1tbsp rice wine vinegar
2cm piece of ginger
1 clove of garlic
1tbsp cornflour
1 higher-welfare rack of baby back ribs (600g)
Olive oil
2 spring onions
Method:
1. Remove the shelf from the air-fryer drawer and go in with the sugar, soy and vinegar, along with 300 millilitres of water. Peel and finely grate in the ginger and garlic, add the cornflour and mix to combine, then replace the shelf.
2. Rub the rack of ribs with a little olive oil and a pinch of sea salt, then place it on the shelf (cut it in half to help it fit, if needed). Cook for 50 minutes at 160°C, or until the meat is tender and starting to get gnarly.
3. Use tongs to carefully remove the shelf, tipping the ribs into the sauce, then turn the ribs to coat. Cook for another five minutes at 200°C, or until the sauce sets and darkens on the ribs and the surrounding sauce thickens, too.
4. Slice up the ribs, then trim, finely slice and scatter over the spring onions. Pour the remaining sauce into a bowl, for dunking. Great served with sticky rice and zingy seasonal greens.
Energy: 394kcal
Fat: 19.4g
Sat Fat: 7.6g
Carbs: 28.4g
Suagrs: 23.6g
Salt: 2.6
Fibre 0.3g
Pear and blackberry crumble
Hands on: 12 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
1-drawer air fryer
Ingredients:
(Serves 6)
4 ripe pears
2 eating apples
2 balls of stem ginger in syrup
300g blackberries
100g cold unsalted butter
1 large orange
100g porridge oats
60g demerara sugar
1 pinch of ground cinnamon
100g cornflakes
Method:
1. Cut the pears and apples into sixths, removing the core. Finely chop the stem ginger. Remove the shelf from the air fryer, then place the pears, apples, blackberries and ginger inside with a knob of the butter, the orange zest and juice, and two tablespoons of stem ginger syrup. Mix together and cook for 40 minutes at 180ºC, or until the fruit has softened, stirring halfway.
2. Meanwhile, place the oats in a bowl, cube up and add the remaining butter, then rub together with your thumbs and fingertips. Add the sugar and cinnamon, scrunch in the cornflakes, and mix well.
3. Scatter the crumble mixture over the fruit and cook for another 10 minutes at 180ºC, or until golden and bubbling, then dish up straight from the drawer. Great with custard, crème fraîche or ice cream.
Engery: 378kcal
Fat: 15.6g
Sat Fat: 9g
Protein: 58.7g
Carbs: 32.1g
Sugars: 0.2g
Fibre 5.3g
Easy Air Fryer by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Michael Joseph, priced £26. Photography by David Loftus. Available now
