Three air fryer recipes to give junk food a makeover

 Tired of wrestling with your conscience every time you eye that greasy takeaway menu? Well, salvation is at hand. Enter the air fryer, here to give junk food a makeover.

 Shakshuka with egg and avocado

Heart-helping avocado is the perfect topping for this rich, Middle Eastern recipe packed full of your favourite vegetables and eggs.

Preparation time:12 minutes| Cooking time:43 minutes

Ingredients

1 onion

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1½ tbsp coriander, fresh

200g tomatoes, diced, canned

2 tbsp olive oil

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 pinch ground cumin

1 pinch salt

1 pinch pepper

1 dried bay leaf

2 eggs

1 avocado

Method

1. Peel the onion and cut it into half rings. Remove the stalk and seeds of the bell peppers and cut into strips. Cut the coriander, including the stalks.

2. Place the onion and bell peppers in a large bowl and mix with diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with olive oil. Season to taste with cayenne pepper, cumin powder, salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix in the coriander and bay leaf, and transfer into the air fryer.

3. Bake the vegetables in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 180C.

4. Stir the vegetables. Restart the air fryer and cook the vegetables for another 20 minutes at 160C.

5. Remove the bay leaf from the vegetables and make a whole for each egg. Break the eggs into each hole and poach them by cooking in the air fryer for another 13 minutes at 160C.

6. Half the avocado, remove the stone and peel. Cut the avocado into slices. Coarsely chop the coriander. Place the avocado over the shakshuka and sprinkle it with coriander. Serve with bread.

5-minute victory pizza

Expensive and unhealthy takeaways can be a thing of the past with this easy and delicious alternative.

Prep time: 5 minutes | Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

2 tortillas

80g tomato sauce

125g mozzarella

6 basil leaves

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Tear the mozzarella into pieces. Spread half of the tomato sauce over the tortilla, leaving about 1cm around the edges for the pizza crust. Arrange half of the mozzarella on top.

2. Place the tortilla in the air fryer basket and cook for five minutes at 180C. Repeat process for second tortilla.

3. Once baked, remove the tortilla from the air fryer and serve immediately with fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil.

Winner winner chicken dinner

A rich combination of tender, juicy chicken smothered in a creamy sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and herbs.

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 22 minutes

Ingredients

450g chicken breast fillets

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tbsp vegetable oil

50g tomatoes, sun-dried

3 branches basil, fresh

350g cooking cream (15% fat)

50g parmesan, grated

100ml of water

1 tsp oregano, dried

1 tbsp tomato paste

Method

1. Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise to get four equal pieces and sprinkle each with salt. Dip both sides of the meat in flour to coat evenly. Brush or spray it with vegetable oil and transfer to the baking accessory.

2. Place the baking accessory in the basket and slide the basket into the airfryer. Cook for 12 minutes at 200C.

3. For the sauce, combine the cooking cream, grated parmesan, water, tomato paste, and dried oregano and mix well.

4. Open the airfryer and pour the prepared sauce evenly over the chicken. Cook for 10 minutes at 180C.

5. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes of excess oil and chop them. Wash and finely chop the fresh basil. Once done, remove the chicken from the device and set it aside. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and basil to the sauce in the baking accessory and stir. Serve the chicken breast drizzled with the prepared sauce and cooked pasta or rice.

The Independent