Philips recently set me and a few other bloggers up a challenge which is to swap a weekly takeaway meal every week for a month and to join in the AirFryer TakeIn challenge.
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So the AirFryer arrived last week along with a fantastic selection of recipe cards for inspiration and Ricotta and Basil Balls just had to be made pretty much immediately, oh we do LOVE cheese!
Now we all know that fried food tastes good but we also know it really isn't good for us.
But that's where the AirFryer comes to the rescue making fast, tasty fried food without using the traditional frying method of frying.
I think you'll agree these Ricotta and Basil balls look like they were fried but they were not!
I tell you what though, I've also made AirFryer Mini Chorizo Empanadas and they were excellent.
The Philips AirFryer cuts the calories by using very little oil but gives the appearance of fried food.
How does the AirFryer work?
The AirFryer uses Rapid Air technology. A unique patented combination of high-speed air circulation, with a top grill.
Rapid Air technology makes the hot air circulate very rapidly around the ingredients in the basket.
This heats up the ingredients in the basket from all sides at once, making it a healthy, fast and easy method to prepare tasty food.
Food prepared in the Airfryer is crispy on the outside and without being dry on the inside.
Healthier
When you air fry French fries, the fries contain up to 80% less fat compared to fries prepared in a deep-fat fryer.
Fast
With the Airfryer, you can easily prepare your favourite foods in a fast way and 300g French fries can be prepared in as little as 15 minutes.
The timer will switch off the AirFryer automatically after the set preparation time. You can start hot air frying in a cold appliance.
Okay back to the Ricotta and Basil Balls. Oh my goodness they were delicious!
The recipe card said the mixture would make 20 balls but I wanted bigger balls!
So I made only 10 balls in total which means they are double the calories that the card said and worked out at just 80 calories each.
But compared to the fried version is a massive saving of 58 calories (on average) per Ricotta and Basil ball.
What else have I cooked so far?
I'm having a great time trying out various recipes and so far I've cooked Pizza, Bacon, Chips, Thai Fishcakes and even a Jacket Potato.
Now it has to be said I had my doubts as to whether the AirFryer could cook a jacket potato but it did.
Okay, the potato was quite small but enough for lunch but the AirFryer can cook 2 potatoes (cut into halves like in the picture) of this size, in the same time which was 25 minutes. Perfect as a side dish.
The potato had lovely crispy skin and was nice and fluffy inside.
I took the potato out and mixed it with a little salt and grated cheese then popped it back in the AirFryer for another minute so the cheese bubbled nicely.
After several attempts to get a decent photo of the AirFryer I gave up - it's so lovely and shiny black that all you could see was the reflection of me and my kitchen which is never going to be a good look.
So this photo has been supplied by Philips.
The basket is enough to cook a decent amount of chips enough for 4 people. It doesn't come with a Grill Pan only the basket, but I'm loving the AirFryer so much that I bought the Grill Pan from Philips via Amazon and it arrived the next day.
It has to be said the grill pan is a marvellous accessory and to be honest in my opinion, I say it is necessary in order to cook things like Ricotta Balls or Thai Fishcakes.
Why? Because it's non-stick and my fishcakes did stick to the wire of the basket and made it pesty to clean up.
Of course, the supplied wire basket is brilliant for cooking chips and one of the many things I'm loving about the AirFryer compared with other leading brands is that very low or no oil needed fryer is that with the Philips AirFryer.
The food isn't stirred around and therefore cooks without adding any fat. Any fat in the food you are cooking (if there is any) simply drips through the wire basket or the holes in the grill pan accessory, if used.
Ricotta Balls with Basil
Ingredients
- 250 g ricotta
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 egg, separated
- Freshly ground pepper
- 15 g fresh basil, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
- 3 slices of stale white bread
Instructions
- Mix the ricotta in a bowl with the flour, egg yolk, 1 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Stir the basil, chives and orange peel through the mixture.
- Divide the mixture into 20 equal portions and shape them into balls with wet hands. Let the balls rest for a while.
- Grind the bread slices into fine bread crumbs with the food processor and mix with the olive oil.
- Pour the mixture into a deep dish. Briefly beat the egg white in another deep dish.
- Carefully coat the ricotta balls in the egg white and then in the bread crumbs.
- Put 10 balls in the basket and slide the basket into the AirFryer. Set the timer to 8 minutes.
- Bake the balls until golden brown. Bake the rest of the balls in the same way.
- Serve the ricotta balls in a platter.
Disclosure - I was sent the Philips AirFryer to take part in the #AirFryerTakeIn challenge along with a gift card for ingredients. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not required to write anything positive.
Oh these look so good, I thought of making these but am going to be tring out the chips, tandoori chicken and chicken nuggets then a dessert I think. It's a great challenge!
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