Yes, I bought an air fryer. But that doesn’t mean I know what to do with it. So, of course, I turned to Urvashi Pitre, the Keller woman known as the “Butter Chicken Lady." She is a cooking gadget queen, a prolific cookbook writer and a vigorous recipe tester. She became well-known for her keto and low-carb recipes for the Instant Pot, along with her blog Two Sleevers, which has a devoted following.
She has now released her sixth cookbook, her second one of air fryer recipes, called Air Fryer Revolution: 100 Crispy, Healthy, Fast and Fresh Recipes (Houghton Mifflin, $21.99).
So why should I like my air fryer? “I like the fact that it’s very fast,” Pitre says. “It heats up in 2 minutes vs. 30 minutes for the oven. It is healthy, but people are making a mistake if you think it’s only about things to fry. You should be thinking about this as a new appliance.”
She makes everything from fried rice to currywurst in it, but for beginners, Pitre recommends starting with chicken wings. “There is so much natural fat in the skin and the wings, that you can start them from frozen,” she says. “The smart thing to do is not put sauce on while cooking. Sauce them when they’re almost done and crispy.”
Her Crispy Indonesian Chicken Wings from the cookbook is a great basic recipe with a wonderful, flavorful sauce. Pitre says you can start with a huge batch of wings and spice them three different ways if you want to.
Puff pastry also does well in the air fryer, Pitre says, and her recipe for Pigs in Puff-Pastry Blankets is easy for beginners. It’s what Pitre likes to call “stupid simple.” It’s also a fun recipe that even kids can do. Pitre adds that the air fryer is great for kids because the heating element is hidden. “A child can put the food in there. It’s a lot safer than trying to cook with a pan," she says. "And chicken nuggets are amazing in there.”
If you’re an aspiring or experienced meal-prepper, the air fryer is great for roasting veggies. I like the Blistered Shishito Peppers with Sour Cream Dipping Sauce from the vegetables chapter, which also includes ideas for carrots, butternut squash, potatoes, green beans and broccoli. And all have far-from-boring flavors.
Other chapters focus on appetizers, like dips and biscuits; eggs and cheese (Harissa Shakshuka); poultry (Lebanese Turkey Burgers); seafood (Tandoori Shrimp); beef, pork and lamb (Korean Beef Tacos); desserts (Maple-Pecan Tart); and one just on spice mixes.
Pitre’s recipes always have clear instructions, accurate timing guides, and allergen information, which I appreciate as a working mother of a child with food allergies.
I plan on having a healthy and super-efficient 2020, and I can’t wait to try out more of these recipes. Because, like her millions of social media followers always say, I #TrustUrvashi.
