Week 49 - Air fried Chicken Wings

The Recipe
6 chicken wings
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp of paprika
.... or whatever other spices catch your fancy!

In a bag, mix together baking powder and all spices. Dab the chicken wings dry with a paper towel, add them to the bag and shake it thoroughly to coat all the wings. If you don't have an oil spray (I don't), add a bit of oil to the bag and repeat. If you do have an oil spray, just spray the wings after they're in the fryer instead.

I decided to add the metal rack to the fryer basket, but I don't know if it's necessary.

Cool at 200C for 10 minutes. Turn over all pieces and cook for another 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve with sweet chili sauce, potatoes and a nice salad. ... or by themselves as a snack.

The Verdict
Magic! The baking powder made the skin bubble and it turned out SO crisp and lovely. Seriously, this was restaurant grade chicken wings. Tasted amazing too! Definitely a winner.

Week 47: Boeuf Bourguignon

The Recipe
175g bacon, chopped
900g lean braising steak, e.g. rump steak, cut into 2.5cm cubes (in Danish: tyksteg el. cuvette/culotte)
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp oil
12 shallots, peeled but left whole
2-4 garlic cloves, chopped
175g mushrooms, quartered
450ml red wine
150m beef stock
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs each of fresh thyme, parsley and marojam, tied together
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Mix flour, salt and pepper in a bag. Add the beef and toss until coated.

Over medium-high heat, cook the bacon in a large, ovenproof casserole, until golden brown. Remove bacon from pot and put aside. Add the butter to the pot and brown the beef in batches. Set aside with the bacon.

Add the oil to the fat remaining in the pot. Cook the shallots and garlic until fragrant and just starting to turn brown. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the wine and give it a good stir, to loosen up all the brown bits in the bottom of the pot. Return the beef and bacon to the pot and stir in the beef stock. Add the herbs and bring to a boil.

Cover and cook in the oven for ~1.5hrs. Season to taste and serve with mashed potatoes and some green beans.

The Verdict
SO good! No doubt a good part of that was due to the high quality of the meat and wine (we didn't just get the cheapest), but this recipe was so ridiculously easy that nobody could mess it up :-D Getting everything prepared took a tad longer than expected, but I'd still consider it a really good dish to make for company, because of it's long cooking time, where it really can just be left alone. Might be worth while to try to adapt it for the crock pot as well.

Week 46: Salmon w. Mango

The Recipe
400g salmon filet
1 piece of baking paper
1 mango fruit
Herbs of your choice
2tbsp orange juice
50g feta cheese or cream cheese

Peel the mango and cut it into wedges.

Place the salmon on the baking paper. Distribute the mango on top. Add herbs and drizzle with the orange juice. Add crumbled feta cheese or 'blobs' of cream cheese on top. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Close the paper around the fish and place the package in an ovenproof dish. Bake at 200C for about 25 minutes.

Serve with potatoes.

The Verdict
Really good!! I had it with cream cheese, but think it would taste just as nice - but very different - with the feta, so am keen on trying that too. Really yummy and creamy, and the flavours worked very well together.

Week 45: Asian Glazed Chicken

The Recipe
1lb chicken breasts
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp balasmic vinegar
1/2 tbsp honey
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp ginger
The green bits of 2 spring onions

Mix together everything but the chicken and spring onions. Add the chicken and leave to marinade for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Remove the chicken from the marinade (reserving the marinade) and transfer to the air fryer basket. Cook for 7-8 minutes on each side or until cooked through (mine took a bit longer, next time I think I'll cut them into halves).

Meanwhile transfer the marinade to a small pot and cook over medium-low heat until it reduces slightly. Add the spring onions last minute.

Serve over rice.

The Verdict
The chicken wasn't quite cooked through at first, and then I cooked them for too long the second time around, so they ended up rather dry, unfortunately. I think I'll cut the breasts in halves next time, so the original cooking time will fit better. Also, there really wasn't much marinade left to turn into a drizzle, so I may double all those measurements for next time.

All in all, I think I'd say it was good, but not great. Made the kitchen smell amazing though, so definitely might make it again.

Week 44: Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

The recipe
1 15oz can chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup uncooked red lentils
1/2 onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 15oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1.5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce (depending on whether or not it needs to be vegetarian)
1/4 tsp dry mustard or 1/4 tbsp dijon mustard
A dash of red crushed pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high 5-6 hours, until the lentils are cooked through and the mixture thickens. Open the slow cooker and, using a potato masher, mash about 1/3 of the filling. Give it a good stir and let it cook for another 30 minutes or so.

Serve over toasted burger buns.

The Verdict
I don't think I cooked it for quite long enough as both the lentils and chickpeas were still rather hard - not quite crunchy, but they would have been better had they been cooked for a bit longer, I think. But I did like it, and it's easy enough to make, so will probably try it again.

Week 39: Mustard-Glazed Neck Fillet

The Recipe
1kg neck fillet
1tbsp mustard
1tbsp honey
Salt, Pepper
Spices of your choice (I used thyme and bbq)
1dl chicken stock
corn flour
tomato paste

Cut the top of the neck fillet criss-cross. Add salt and pepper. Mix together mustard and honey and coat the meat with it. Add additional spices of your choice. Pour 3-4dl water to the bottom of the airfryer, put the basket on top and add the neck fillet.

Cook in the airfryer at 180C for about 70 minutes (or until a meat themometer reaches 65C.

Remove from the airfryer, and set aside to rest for ten minutes before slicing it.

Meanwhile make the sauce by pouring the meat drippings into a pot. Add chicken stock (or any other stock, I guess) and possibly a bit more water. Add tomato paste and some corn flour mixed with cold water. Bring to a boil and let it thicken a bit. Season to taste.

Serve with potatoes and a nice salad.

The Verdict
Really good! We hardly had any drippings left (I guess the rest had boiled off?), so added a bit more chicken stock than mentioned above, but it worked out really well, and tasted SO yummy!

Week 38: Crispy Tortilla Packages (Airfryer)

The Recipe
4 tortillas
~400g meat of your choice cut into bite sized pieces (I used veal)
4 tbsp sour cream
4 tbsp salsa
~4 tbsp shredded cheese
Lettuce
1 red onion, sliced
A handful of nachos chips
Tortilla toppings of your choice (avocado, more salsa/sour cream, more cheese, jalapenos, more lettuce, tomatoes etc.)
Oil

Season the meat with salt, pepper and spices of your choice, spray with oil and place in the airfryer basket. Cook at 180C for ~10 minutes, shaking the basket halfway.

Prepare each tortillas like this: put shredded cheese sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, meat, onion, lettuce and a couple of tortilla chips in the center of each. Fold the tortilla to a pentagon, by folding up one 'side' at a time, overlapping the previous side. Spray with oil and place in the basket (I let mine overlap a bit, that way there were room for all 4 at once). Cook for 6 minutes, turn them over and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Serve with additional toppings as desired.

The Verdict
Pretty straight forward tortillas meal. Nothing out of the ordinary, and could easily have been made using the stove instead, but one advantage of the air fryer that I hadn't thought of ahead of time is that it's possible to cook without standing over a hot stove! That's going to come in SO handy next summer. And it tasted really good! I might add a few more tortillas chips next time, but that's the only modification I have in mind.