Bikini Nicola Vachová advises you how to prepare healthy food in a hot air fryer

We are often asked what type of deep fryer we have, how to prepare meat properly and what alternatives can be cooked in the deep fryer. So I decided to write down some of our experiences with preparing healthy and simple recipes.

In the deep fryer we most often prepare different types of meat, most often chicken, turkey, but also ground beef or fish like salmon and tilapia. All these meats are prepared at 200 °C for 20 min (however, everyone can play with the temperature according to their tastes - for example, if someone likes their salmon not fully cooked in the middle, I would choose a shorter cooking time or a lower temperature. Conversely, a lover of browned fish and meat should choose a longer cooking time for a crispy crust.) As for the chicken and turkey, simply prepare the meat according to the desired weight and cut it into larger madailons, which we salt and season in a bowl (we most often use single spices such as pepper, thyme, rosemary, etc.) Then transfer the meat to the fryer, where we spread it out over the entire surface so that it is evenly browned. If you want to make the job easier, you can line the basket of the fryer with baking paper (this prevents the meat from burning and also prevents the basket of the fryer from smelling the smells from the different types of meat - especially fish.)

As far as side dishes are concerned, we most often prepare both potatoes and sweet potatoes in the fryer. Just cut into rounds or fries, set the fryer to 200 °C and bake, at least 20 min. Again, if you like your potatoes or sweet potatoes more browned, increase the cooking time by a few minutes. It also depends on the type of potatoes - we have had potatoes that were still raw after 20 minutes of cooking, so it is better to check first if the side dish is really ready to serve. To season the potatoes, we again use basic spices such as salt and thyme. Simply stack the potatoes (sweet potatoes) on the bottom of the basket so that all the slices are browned (if we would like the potatoes browned on both sides, we can flip/toss the slices in the second half of the baking process). Frequent questions are also directed to whether it is possible to prepare the meat at the same time as the side dish. Yes, if it is a single portion, then both the meat and the side dish can fit in the fryer, saving preparation time. If you are preparing a larger meal, it is better to prepare the meat and side dish separately.

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Another indispensable ingredient for preparing healthy meals is, of course, vegetables. Grilled aubergines with courgettes or a mixture of beans with baby carrots are great in the fryer. In this case, set the fryer to 180 °C and roast the vegetables for about 15 minutes. For vegetables, it is good to choose the cooking time according to yourself (it depends on the thickness of the beans or how big/small you cut the eggplant or zucchini). Again, use basic seasonings like salt and pepper. If necessary, turn the vegetables during preparation (but not necessary).

Our personal experience so far is only with the preparation of savoury, meat dishes, but our clients have already tried rice or oat pancakes in the fryer and the experiment was successful. It is up to you how and what you use the fryer for. For us, we can only recommend the fryer, it is the tastiest food preparation we have tried so far. The meat is browned and yet juicy inside, the potatoes are crispy and the vegetables are beautifully soft, really like grilling. Try it!

Link to the fryer we use - HERE.

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