Air Fryer Chicken Thighs and Sweet Potato

I know instant pots are all the rage now. I have heard of people who own these in various sizes! Not me…at least not yet. I haven’t jumped on that bandwagon yet – and even if/when I do, I am quite confident I will not be owning more than one. So, for now, I do own an air fryer (have been for maybe a year now).

You may wonder what I have used it for. In all honesty, my husband has used it more often than I have – and definitely it is not to make anything meal worthy! He has only ever made frozen fries in them. They taste great, but I figured there should be other applications of the gadget than just for crisping up frozen food. So, I started experimenting, first with vegetables seasoned with salt and ever so slightly drizzled with oil. My favorite…eggplant slices and broccoli! Yum! Then, I got to thinking…and googling.

Damn! You can even make desserts in an air fryer! Wow! Anyway, I wanted to attempt a main dish, and hence was born this chicken and sweet potato recipe.

Honestly, you can use any seasoning for the chicken thighs (or drumstick or cut up breast). I happened to stumble upon harissa seasoning at a local TJMaxx (love the store for the interesting finds) and decided to try it. Harissa seasoning has complex spice notes with good amount of heat, so use it according to your taste. I needed to add salt because the bottle I bought did not have any.

After about 30+ minutes in the air fryer, the chicken thighs were super crispy on the outside (thanks to the skin) and juicy and delicious inside. Sweet potato took on a nice flavor from the chicken as well. The best compliment was “Hon, I am sorry, I don’t think I can eat the bone!” So, if you own an airfryer, you have to try this recipe. If not, either buy one or try the recipe in a 450F oven.

Air Fryer Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potato

Servings: 4
Time: 35 min
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Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed, but with skin

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon harissa seasoning

1 teaspoon salt, divided

2 medium sweet potato (or regular potato)

2 tablespoons oil, divided

Preparation:

Preheat the air fryer to 375F.
Score the skin side of the chicken thighs deeply with a sharp knife. Season with a blend of 1 tablespoon harissa and 1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste). Make sure seasoning gets into the cut slashes. Drizzle both sides with a tablespoon of oil.
Place chicken thighs, skin side down in the air fryer and cook for 10 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, peel and cut the sweet potato into large chunks, about 1″ wide. Toss with remaining salt, harissa and oil.
Remove the chicken thighs from the fryer and set aside on a plate.
Add the sweet potato to the air fryer and top with the chicken, this time with skin side up.
Cook for another 25 minutes or more till the chicken and sweet potato are cooked through and the top of the chicken is browned and crispy.
Transfer to serving plates and serve with other sides or vegetables for a wholesome, delicious dinner.

23Mar2014

Crispy and Chewy No-knead Bread

Posted in Breads by serendibbeginnings

I love freshly baked bread. It is one of my favorite things to create in the kitchen, especially in the colder months. The recipes I have tried in the past have all been the kneading type with lots of all-purpose flour. So, when I came across a recipe online at http://www.the-baker-chick.com which in turn referenced another posted at http://www.simplysogood.com, I thought it’s worth the try since it involved very minimal time commitment.

This recipe is very versatile meaning you can mix in various things. Janet at Simply So Good gives you a whole bunch of options. In my version, I added a heaping tablespoon of harissa sauce. It infused the bread with bit of heat and a touch of caraway flavor in addition to giving it an orangish tint.

Replacing half the all purpose flour with whole wheat and adding in a bit of ground flax made the bread a bit more wholesome. It is a little denser than the white bread variety (which I would make next just for comparison), but packs a lot of flavor. I brushed a slice lightly with olive oil and toasted in a pan and it was delightfully crispy and chewy. Whether you are looking for a no-knead bread recipe option or something different for a change, this recipe is a definite keeper.

One caveat – this dough needs to be proofed for a long period, typically about 12 – 18 hours or so. I proofed mine for about 19 hours and it was great. So, if you are like me, feel free to mix up the dough on impulse and let it do its thing!

Crispy and Chewy No-Knead Bread

Servings: potentially could serve just 4 🙂
Time: Proof time is about 12-18 hours, bake time is about 45 min
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Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup ground flax
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 heaping tablespoon harissa sauce, optional
1 1/4 cups room temperature water

Preparation
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/4 cup of warm water and set aside for 5 min till frothy.
2. In a large bowl, combine all flours and salt.
3. Add yeast mixture and remaining water to the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula till a “messy” dough forms. If using harissa or another add-in item, stir it in while adding the water and yeast mixture.
4. Cover with a plastic wrap and keep on the counter top or in a cool oven for 12-18 hours or more till the dough bubbles up and more than doubles.
5. At the end of the proofing time, remove the bowl from the oven and set oven to 450F.
6. After the oven is preheated, place a pizza stone or an oven proof ceramic container in the oven to preheat for 15-20 minutes at least.
7. Invert a large cookie sheet and place a sheet of parchment paper on it. Empty the dough onto the parchment paper and with heavily floured hands gently mold the dough into a dome shape (mine was about 8 inches or so in diameter).
8. Open the oven and quickly slide the parchment sheet with the bread onto the pizza stone. If using a ceramic bowl, slowly invert the dough into the container.
9. CREATING STEAM EFFECT – I used a heavy stainless steel bowl to cover the dough while baking so the moisture from the sticky dough could act as the steam. If you don’t have a similar set up (or if not using a ceramic dish with a lid), you could preheat a broiler pan on the bottom rack of the oven while preheating the pizza stone and add about 2 cups or so of hot water as soon as you slide the dough onto the pizza stone.
10. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking for another 15 minutes or so till the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
11. Carefully remove from pan and loosely cover with a kitchen/bread towel.
12. Serve toasted or untoasted with spreads of your choice or just a dip of olive oil and garlic.

24Feb2014

Harissa Sauce

Posted in Sauces and Condiments by serendibbeginnings

Harissa is a fiery hot sauce used in North African cuisine. As you might have guessed, primary ingredient is PLENTY of dried hot peppers. I used dried cayenne peppers this time around. Next time though, I would love to incorporate some fiery harbanero or other super spicy pepper for added heat.

This sauce can be used as a condiment or as a seasoning for meats and seafood. I even used some of it to spice up pasta sauce and it was amazing. I also tried it spread on a cracker. Delicious! Who knows, if you like spicy things, this might become your new favorite dip for chips or veggies.

Harissa Sauce

Time: 15 min
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Ingredients
20-25 Dried hot peppers (I used cayenne)
1 dried Pasilla pepper
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
3-4 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons oil
2-4 tablespoon water
Sea salt to taste
Juice from 1/2 lemon

Preparation
1. Soak dried peppers in hot water for 10 minutes.
2. Dry roast coriander, cumin and caraway seeds for 3-5 minutes under low heat.
3. Grind them to powder using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
4. Drain the peppers and transfer to a blender or food processor along with all other ingredients except water.
5. Grind to a paste adding just enough water.
6. Transfer to a container and refrigerate.

Harissa can easily be stored in the refrigerator for few weeks – if it lasts you that long.