A Perfect Pantry

For those who are health-conscious and want to scale back their calorie intake, there are ways to create favourite snacks and dishes with little to no oil required during the cooking process.

We’ve recently launched our new Air Chef air fryer which does just that. We’ve also compiled basic cooking tips to get the most out of the Air Chef or any other benchtop or conventional oven.

We hope you find these tips useful in creating the delicious results - without compromising on flavour or nutrition. How do you seal in flavours without the guilt trip? Tell us about in the comments section.

• If using a benchtop or conventional oven, line the baking tray with baking paper. This acts as a non-stick surface.
• To create succulent, moist roast meats, try cooking at lower temperatures over an extended period of time. This helps seal in the meat without letting too much of the flavoursome juices escape.
• Fancy baked fish? Try the fish in a bag approach: flavour your favourite fish fillet with herbs, spices and citrus slices over baking paper. Ensure there’s adequate space on either sides of the fish - this will allow you to scrunch the ends (twist the paper like a pepper grinder) and fold over the gaps. Hold the ends together with string and pop into a pre-heated oven.
  • Most fish, especially oily varieties like salmon and ocean trout, will work well cooked in a bag. The fish will cook in its own juices as the bag steams up.
• If roasting vegetables, coat contents with olive oil. You can take this one step further if preferred, and use an olive oil spray.
  • Tip: if roasting vegetables alongside meats, remember that the meat juices add moisture to the vegetables, helping speed up the cooking process without the use of excessive oils or butters.
• For added crunch in snacks like French fries, it helps if the oven temperature is hot and dry (always pre-heat the appliance before sliding the contents in) and avoid overcrowding the dish.
  • If the potatoes are hand cut, it’s a good idea to wash the spuds under cold water for five minutes to remove the starch. Then dry cut potatoes over a rack to draw out the moisture and coat lightly with olive oil and seasoning before baking.

For more recipe ideas, download your free Air Chef e-book here .