From herb stuffed salmon to peach Alaska, Jamie Oliver’s quick & easy air fryer recipes after he becomes gadget convert
IT’S the gadget taking kitchens by storm – and now even Jamie Oliver is a fan of the air fryer.
For new Channel 4 series Jamie’s Air Fryer Meals, which started on Monday, the celebrity chef has a host of quick and easy recipes — and today he shares some with The Sun.
He told us: “At first I was a bit sceptical [about air fryers] but after testing, and discovering new ways to create flavour and texture, I was sold.
“It’s rare for a gadget to revolutionise the way people cook, but it’s such a great solution for the modern family that the air fryer has done just that.
“Aside from the obvious speed and efficiency, it’s brilliant for staggered meal times, especially mid-week, when people juggle multiple timetables.
“Plus, it’s a great meal prepping aid.
“I like to rack up individual meals in foil parcels in the fridge that can be cooked to order in very little time.
“It’s especially great for older kids, as they can grab their own when ready — mine would rather use an air fryer than turn on the oven — and it feels like a safer method of cooking.
“There’s none of the waiting around for the oven to preheat or feeling like it’s a waste of energy to be switching the oven on for smaller numbers.
“And air fryers can brown things nice and evenly without you having to keep turning things over — they vent steam to help with this, unlike regular ovens that tend to trap steam.”
- Episode two of Jamie’s Air Fryer Meals is on Channel 4 on Monday at 8pm. For more air- fryer recipes, check out jamieoliver.com/airfryer.
Kerala-style roast chicken
With crispy cauliflower and chickpea fragrant curry sauce
A MARRIAGE of two of my loves – a roast dinner and chicken curry.
The air fryer is so efficient for cooking a whole bird and, with spices, gnarly veg, fluffy rice and crispy poppadoms, it makes a fantastic family meal.
Serves 6
Prep time: 10mins
Cook time: 50mins
Nutrition: 648kcals, 19.3g fat (5.9g saturated), 48.7g protein, 74.4g carbs, 16.1g sugar, 9g fibre, 1.2g salt
Weight of portion: 517.7g
Special diet tags: gluten-free
[Recipe tested in a Tefal Easy Fry Dual Air Fryer, 8.3L]
YOU NEED:
1.5kg whole free-range chicken
1 small cauliflower
4 tbsp Kerala-style curry paste
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
700g jar of chickpeas
1 mug of basmati rice (300g)
½ a lemon
½ a cucumber
½ a red chilli
150g natural yoghurt
3 tbsp mango chutney
½ a pomegranate
poppadoms, to serve
For the curry sauce:
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
5cm piece of ginger
1 fresh red chilli
1 bunch of coriander (30g)
Groundnut oil
1 heaped teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 handful of curry leaves
300g ripe cherry tomatoes
400g tin of light coconut milk
½ a lemon
METHOD: Press on the chicken breasts to break the backbone then slash each thigh a few times to help the heat penetrate as it cooks.
Quarter the cauliflower, discarding tatty outer leaves.
Rub 2 tbsp each of curry paste and olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, all over the chicken and cauliflower.
Place the chicken breast-side down in the larger drawer of the air fryer and press down.
Cook for 50mins at 200C, or until cooked through.
Turn halfway. Place the cauliflower in the smaller drawer and cook for 50mins at 200C, adding the chickpeas halfway.
Meanwhile, for the curry sauce, peel and finely slice the onion, garlic and ginger, then deseed and finely slice the chilli.
Pick the coriander leaves, finely chopping the stalks.
Put a big non-stick pan on medium heat with 1 tbsp groundnut oil, the spices and curry leaves and fry for 2 mins, then add the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, a pinch of black pepper, the coriander stalks and tomatoes, breaking them up with a spoon as you go. Stir in the remaining 2 tbsp curry paste and cook for 15mins, or until softened, stirring occasionally.
Pour 2 mugs of boiling kettle water into a pan, halve and add the lemon and a pinch of salt then place on a high heat.
Tip in the rice, stir then cover and cook on low heat for 12mins or until tender. Leave to sit for 2mins then fluff with a fork.
Remove the lemon and squeeze over the rice.
Stir in the coconut milk then simmer on a medium-low heat until reduced to a saucy consistency.
Season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Coarsely grate the cucumber and put in a small bowl, squeezing out excess moisture.
Finely chop and add the chilli then stir in the yoghurt.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Put the mango chutney into a small serving bowl.
Holding the pomegranate half cut-side down in the palm of your hand, bash the back with a spoon so all the seeds tumble out into the bowl.
Mix together.
Spoon the rice on to a serving platter or board, place the cooked chicken on top then arrange the cauliflower and chickpeas at the sides.
Serve the curry sauce in a bowl, with the smaller bowls of cucumber yoghurt and mango chutney on the side, and a stack of poppadoms.
Scatter on the coriander leaves.
Crispy herb-stuffed salmon
With nutty greens and red pepper salsa
PEOPLE often tell me they get nervous about cooking fresh fish beautifully, but fear not, you can get great results in an air fryer.
And in this recipe, I’ve built in clever tips to help you take it to the next level.
I’ve scored and stuffed the salmon for bonus flavour with a quicker cook time, and the tinned potatoes are a brilliant cheat (I love them!).
Served with tasty steamed and scorched greens and a quick salsa, this is a genius midweek meal – big flavour, minimal effort, job done.
Serves 2
Prep time: 5mins
Cook time: 12mins
Nutrition: 666kcals, 35.3g fat (5.5g saturated), 44.4g protein, 38.5g carbs, 10.9g sugar, 8.6g fibre, 1.8g salt
Weight of portion: 588.9g
Special diet tags: Dairy-free
[Recipe tested in a Tefal Easy Fry Dual Air Fryer, 8.3L]
YOU NEED: 1 swig of dry white wine
Olive oil
200g tenderstem broccoli
200g asparagus
100g green beans
2x150g salmon fillets, skin on, scaled, pin-boned, from sustainable sources
½ a bunch of soft herbs, such as dill, basil, parsley, mint, marjoram (15g)
½ a lemon
567g tin of new potatoes
Optional: 1 sprig of rosemary
For the salsa:
2 large roasted jarred peppers (120g)
1 heaped tsp capers
2 anchovy fillets
½ a bunch of basil (15g)
½ a small clove of garlic
½ tsp Dijon mustard
½ a lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil
METHOD: Pour the wine and 1 tbsp olive oil into the bottom of the larger air-fryer drawer.
Trim and throw in the broccoli, snap the woody ends off the asparagus and add, then trim and add the green beans (the order is important here so that everything ends up perfectly cooked).
Pinch the salmon fillets and slice down into the skin lengthways, about 1cm deep.
Season the cuts with sea salt and black pepper, then pick and stuff with the herbs and a few gratings of lemon zest.
Rub with a little olive oil, then place the fish on top of the green veg, skin-side up.
Drain the tinned potatoes and tip on to a board, slicing any larger ones in half.
Slice ½ a lemon into rounds, then drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Add them to the smaller drawer and strip over the rosemary (if using).
Use the sync setting to cook the potatoes for 12mins and the salmon for 8mins, both at 200C.
Place the peppers on a board with the capers and anchovies.
Pick over the basil leaves and peel and add the garlic (you only need a fine slither), then very finely chop and mix together until super-fine.
Add the mustard and a squeeze of lemon juice, followed by 1 tbsp extra- virgin olive oil, then mix together well and scrape into a serving bowl.
Divide the lemony potatoes between serving plates, followed by the green veg, then top with the salmon, drizzling with some of the juices from the larger drawer.
Finish with a dollop of salsa.
Peach Alaska
With hazelnut spread and vanilla ice cream
I’M taking things up a notch with an air fryer dessert that’s guaranteed to impress, and all made with a whole load of things you’ve probably got hanging around in your cupboards.
Now, the classic would be made using a sponge base, which you can absolutely do if you prefer, but I’m making things super easy by using hot cross buns instead.
Enjoy my cheat’s version, made with a whole load of shortcuts, but without compromising on flavour or texture. Yum!
Serves 4 [each Alaska serves 2]
Prep time: 10mins
Cook time: 10mins minutes, plus resting
Nutrition: 368kcals, 10g fat (3.1g saturates, 6.9g protein, 59.,2g carbs, 49.4g sugar, 2,3g fibre, 0.2g salt
Weight of portion: 168.3g
Special diet tags: Vegetarian
[Recipe tested in a Tefal Easy Fry Dual Air Fryer 8.3L]
YOU NEED:
2 large free-range eggs
100g caster sugar
1 hot cross bun
4 tbsp sherry or elderflower cordial
2 tbsp hazelnut chocolate spread
1 415g tin of peaches in juice
2 large scoops of vanilla ice cream
1 handful of unsalted hazelnuts
METHOD: Separate the eggs.
Put the whites into a bowl (save the yolks for another recipe), add a pinch of sea salt and whisk until the mixture forms stiff peaks – use an electric whisk if you’ve got one.
With the mixer still running, gradually add in the sugar until glossy and combined.
Halve the hot cross bun and place on to circles of greaseproof paper.
Drizzle the sherry over the cut sides of the hot cross bun halves then spread over the chocolate spread.
Drain the peaches and arrange half on top of each.
Top one of the hot cross buns with a large scoop of ice cream, then spoon or pipe on half the meringue, making sure the ice cream and bun are completely covered – the meringue will protect them as they bake.
Finish with a few taps of the spoon to create pretty peaks.
Carefully transfer the Alaska to the larger drawer of the air fryer.
Place half the hazelnuts into the smaller drawer and use the sync setting to cook both for 5mins at 190C, or until the meringue is golden all over.
Remove from the air fryer and let it sit for 1 to 2mins, so the meringue can crisp up slightly, then slice in half and divide between serving plates.
Bash or roughly chop the hazelnuts and sprinkle them over, then serve up straight away.
Repeat the tasks outlined here in paragraphs four to six to make your second Alaska.
Enjoy!
Burnt cheescake
With chocolate layers and dressed raspberries
MADE with simple ingredients and a clever method, this is such a comforting but beautiful dessert, and cooking it in layers in an air fryer presents the perfect opportunity to add bonus flavour.
As the cheesecake layers get higher they become closer to the heat source, which results in more colour, and ultimately flavour.
It’s quite visually different and was a real favourite at JOHQ during testing.
Enjoy!
Serves 8
Prep time: 5mins
Cook time: 24mins
Nutrition: 398kcals, 25.3g fat (16.1g saturates), 7.4g protein, 37.4g carbs, 33g sugar, 2.3g fibre, 0.4g salt
Weight of portion: 128.1g
Special diet tags: Vegetarian
[Recipe tested in a Tefal Easy Fry Vision Air Fryer, 4.2L]
YOU NEED:
Olive oil or butter, for greasing
2x280g tubs of cream cheese
150g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
3 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 large free-range eggs
35g plain flour
100g quality dark chocolate (70%)
½ a blood or regular orange
1 tbsp runny honey
200g fresh raspberries
METHOD: Lightly grease the inside of an 18cm round loose-bottomed cake tin. Line just the bottom with greaseproof paper.
Beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl to soften slightly, then sift in the icing sugar and add the vanilla.
Beat until smooth then add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition.
Sift in the flour and beat once more.
Pour one-third of the mixture into the lined tin, shake gently to even out the layer, then place in the air fryer and cook for 10mins at 200C.
When the time’s up, snap over half the chocolate and pour over half the remaining mixture, smoothing it out to the edges with a spatula.
Cook for 7mins at 200C, then remove.
Snap over the remaining chocolate then top with the remaining mixture, smoothing out as before, and cook for a final 7mins at 200C.
To make the sauce, squeeze the orange juice into a bowl, add the honey, then mash well with half the raspberries.
Scatter in the remaining raspberries, then toss together just before serving.
When the time’s up, allow the cheesecake to cool for 20 to 30mins, then slice up and serve with the dressed raspberries.