I am a purist. I like classic methods and techniques with proven results. And I love knowing that what I am doing in my Prairie farm kitchen has been done for centuries by others in kitchens far different from mine. There are only so many ways of transforming raw food into a meal. Regardless of where we are — me in my old Canadian kitchen, or other women cooking in Mexico, in Azerbaijan, in Poland, in Bali – we all sauté, roast, braise, deep-fry, poach, bake, grill. We all use knives to chop up our food, even if how we achieve that varies. I stand at my butcher block with my favourite cook’s knife and rattle an onion into pieces in a few moments. I have watched women in Europe hold a loaf of bread or piece of vegetable in their hands or to their chest and move their knife through it to create the pieces of food they need. Their rhythm is slower, more relaxed than mine, and sometimes I envy what seems a more desirable pace of living. But no matter the pace, we all cook using recognizable methods, from one woman to the next.
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When the air fryer craze hit, I admit I was utterly dismissive and hugely skeptical. “That’s just a little countertop convection oven,” I told Dave. “Not interested.” Then when Instant Pots arrived, I said, “But I make fine rice on the stovetop. I have an enamelled cast iron pot for braising, and a stock pot for making stock. Why would I want an Instant Pot?”
Well, I am sure you can see where this is going — to a moment of humbling. To a realization that there is more in heaven and earth than is dreamed of in my philosophy. William Shakespeare wasn’t just a fine poet and playwright, but an astute reader of the human psyche.
I took my elderly Momsy and my sister to visit my youngest son awhile back. We showed up as agreed for Sunday lunch, and when we sat down at the counter, my boy cracked open his Instant Pot and served a luscious chili verde that he had thrown together that morning after sleeping late. Then my sister started raving about how reliant she became on her Instant Pot when her stovetop burners kicked out. A month later, I ate at my friend’s house, and she pulled some terrific fries out of her air fryer and set them down in front of me.
“All right,” I said to the universe. “I get it. Let’s go look at the new toys.”
My change in attitude registered in my family. An Instant Pot from my husband Dave appeared under our holiday tree. I can’t wait to put it through its paces. More on that in a couple of weeks. Then my youngest and his partner gave me an air fryer.
I took that big box into the kitchen and set it up on the butcher block. When I cracked open the carton, a pair of removable metal baskets slid out from within the air fryer’s metal box. Each basket had a removable rack in the bottom.
Dave laughed when I broke into my happy dance. That evening I read the user’s manual, although as my son said, all you do is turn it on, set the temperature, set the timer, hit start. But hey, it’s new technology, and I like to know what the heck I’m doing.
What I have learned about my new tool is that the shape has changed, but in fact an air fryer uses old cooking methods. According to BBC Science Focus, “A heating element near the top of the fryer emits heat into the air in the cooking chamber (radiation), while a fan circulates the heated air rapidly around it (convection). This combination creates a very intense heat transfer, resulting in a cooking method that’s closer to frying than baking.”
So I still belong to the sisterhood of the apron. First we eat, then we can share stories of our favourite kitchen exploits.
Air fryer fries with aioli and lemon ketchup
The promise of crisp fries in half an hour gives me the impetus to make a couple of yummy dips while the potatoes cook. Start the lemon ketchup before the spuds, as it takes awhile to reduce. Serves 3.
- 1 ½ lb. yellow-fleshed or russet potatoes
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Slice the potatoes into even batons and toss with the oil and seasoning. Place in air fryer and cook until crisp, shaking once or twice.
Lemon ketchup
- 2 lb. ripe tomatoes
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
- Sea salt to taste
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
- pepper to taste
Seed and mince the tomatoes. Simmer with zest, oil, sugar and salt until thick and flavourful. Add remaining ingredients.
Smoked paprika aioli
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 Tbsp. grainy mustard
- ½ lemon, juice only
- 1- 1 ½ c. olive oil
- ½ tsp. smoked paprika
- a handful of chives, minced
- 1 tsp. finely minced fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil or parsley
- 4-6 cloves minced garlic
- ½ c. chopped olives
- hot chili flakes to taste
- salt to taste
- white wine vinegar to taste
In a non-reactive bowl whisk together the egg, mustard and lemon juice, then slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking thoroughly as you do to form an emulsion. Add the remaining ingredients, balancing the flavours at the end. Cover and chill.
