(Almost) no-cook cooking
With recipes!
It is ONCE AGAIN too hot to cook. I’m not turning on the stove, standing in front of a barbecue or turning on the oven, unless I can chuck in a tin and run away, pref to the Arctic, or in a pinch, Norway1.
The appliance which has had a lot of use in my kitchen, and which as a professional-ish cook I’m embarrassed to admit, is the air-fryer. I have been snobbishly against them FOR YEARS, and then finally, because so many people I respect as really good cooks admit to using them, I caved earlier this year to see what all the fuss is about. And how are the fighty maulen! I’ve had it on every day since.
My previous gripes with air-fryers:
they’re neither cheffy, nor chic;
would go so far as to say most are pug-ugly (no offence intended to pugs, not their fault on the respiratory issues);
they take up loads of space on the counter;
can you really cook in them? does one need an extra appliance just for fish-fingers & oven chips?
WHY NOT JUST USE AN OVEN??
The things which I have (sheepishly) found out:
An AF does not need to be ugly AF - I got this cute doll-sized one, which doubles up as a toaster:
Foolishly I chose ‘almond’ rather than this darling pink. It also comes in an attractive blue, or manly dark grey. Almond is not the deep cream it looks like online, but more beige/mink. Minky-beige. this size is fine for two children OR one or two adults;
it is not mandatory to use a low-cal oil spray - olive oil, particularly extra virgin, is good for you! Use more! I douse everything with oil in a bowl, mix it well, then put it on the air-fryer tray. Take that, spray bottles.
you can adapt loads of Roasting Tin recipes, e.g. fish with crunchy toppings (see below), chicken in marinades, vegetables with spices/herbs;
it cooks the above REALLY QUICKLY - e.g. 12 minutes for a miso-peanut crusted salmon fillet;
this is really helpful for summer/heatwaves where you might just want some protein and a light salad, rather than a full tray of food;
BUT, if you’re cooking for four people who eat the same thing (the dream) or for a party and you aren’t hosting e.g. a band of mice, then you cannot beat the oven2. (I hear there are some great one-tin books for that.)
Speaking of which, this is my ‘build a fish’ dish infographic from the OG Roasting Tin, with a couple of amendments (I was not at that time as big a miso fan, nor had I thought to use a scant teaspoon of Dijon mustard over a fillet of fish, then crumb it, ideally with pine nuts - it is INCREDIBLE.)
You could 100% use this to prep a couple of fillets for the air-fryer: I reckon the trout I did last night was cooked in 10 minutes, but it took 13 minutes to brown the breadcrumb topping to my liking. (We sold it to the children as ‘home-made fish fingers’ and they fell for it. Just.)
A nice lamb’s lettuce salad alongside is all I want, with heatwave incoming.
With ridiculous temperatures in mind, I’ve rejigged three favourite summer dishes (previously written for the barbecue, griddle pan or frying pan) so you can make them partly in an air-fryer, and therefore with less time in front of a stove/barbecue. (Should you not have an air-fryer, I have included the original recipes too.)
At the end of this email, paid subscribers will find:
Griddled asparagus, radishes and burrata with lemon & basil;
Strawberry & halloumi salad with honey & mint; and
Turmeric aubergines with yogurt & chilli-butter cashews.
I particularly like making these salads when pals come round - you can prep almost all aspects ahead of time, and just quickly cook (or reheat) the last bit when needed, so I’ve included cooking in advance notes.
Two of these salads, good focaccia and something cold to drink would make a perfect dinner for four - paddling pool table setup optional.
On this, I wanted to say a quick thank you to lovely paid subscribers: it’s you who allow me to take a day out to write this newsletter. I’m both a fast and a slow writer (very fast to write absolute rubbish, very slow to edit - to lift the fourth wall, the process is something like: chuck kids at my husband at 9am on a Saturday, write a terrible draft perhaps by midday, then revise, and revise, and edit and revise, realise it’s dark, panic and proof read three times, then send to you. Re-read, and immediately spot a typo or awkward construction, collapse.)
Without the paid subscriptions, it’d be trickier to justify ignoring emails about other paid work and the family for a day a week, so many, many thanks. I v much appreciate there are many calls on everyone’s time and cash, and it’s very much valued that you’re up for supporting, particularly as this is written by a person, not a goddamn AI, like some people’s newsletters are. I won’t name and shame but guys! What is the point! (See below.)
ANYWAY.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading, on this the one-and-a-half year anniversary of this newsletter, as a thank you I’d love to offer you 10% off an annual subscription, FOREVER:
Subscribers who upgraded have kindly written to say:
“When my now fiancé moved in with me 3 years ago, he brought with him the OG Roasting Tin and the Quick Roasting Tin, neither of which I knew of before. We now have the full cohort of your books, and their recipes have made up a good 80% of our dinners every week since. I adore your writing style, and take great inspiration from the things you do, so it felt like the right time to upgrade my sub! x”
Eden, paid subscriber
‘I enjoy saving your writing to read with a cup of tea in bed on a Saturday morning. I discovered other great writers through your recommendations and, as someone who has three of your cookery books, I love expanding beyond recipes to the other interesting things you write.’
Nicole, paid subscriber
Embarrassing self-promotion over!
And onto my recommendations of the week:
Air-conditioned hangouts
If you’re in or visiting London, Rebecca Humphries has this excellent list of places to visit. I took the girls to the Saatchi Gallery Sun & Moon exhibition on her recommendation and it was brilliant, AND air-conditioned. Highly rec:
A moment for the girls’ outfits:
AI slop
Someone on socials just (rather hilariously) accused me of being a robot for hating on AI newsletter writing. Er…? (Block, delete, do not engage/feed the algorithm.)
But on AI writing, and why it’s so fucking awful, my husband put me onto this chap, Sam Kriss. This article is SO furious and SO funny that I had to share it with you: my feelings entirely. What a gold-star legend.
Finally, onto the recipes! They’re a long block of text, so I’ll wish you a cool, air-conditioned week ahead (we haven’t got one btw, it’s a bowl of iced water in front of a fan, old-school.) Next week: gardens! And probably more snark. Lots of love, Mini xx
Specifically, run away to Elsa’s Frozen ice-palace.
I did actually look into doing a ‘Roasting Tin Recipes What You Can Make In An Air-Fryer, Too’ book (title was a work in progress) and we got my brilliant food pal Jo Denton (née Jackson) to trial convert a handful of Roasting Tin recipes using a multi-basket Ninja. She did a marvellous job, as ever, but the consensus was that an air-fryer basket is just too small for recipes designed for a large oven-tray: you end up having to cook everything in batches, then reheat it all in the oven anyway. Might as well… put on the oven.
I was recently gifted an air fryer by a friend and am trying very hard to like it. I think your olive oil advice might be the solution as I'm finding stuff cooked but dry as opposed to crisped. Said friends absolutely love it, so I know I must be missing something, but I'm far from convinced.
Lovely outfits on the girls.... I also have a shalwar kameez bought many years ago when I was in India but worry now that it might be considered 'cultural appropriation'.
I despise my air fryer, I believe it’s evil. I think it probably hates me too as it has a penchant for burning my fingers when the bleeper orders me to turn the food. I think it might be related to my mother-in-law.