2 weeks Ago By Angela Patrone
Air fryers are a fantastic way to cook a range of foods for a lower cost and faster than a standard oven. With Easter coming up and Cuisinart releasing a new air fryer, I thought it would be a great time to perfect how I cook my roast potatoes. Instead of coating potatoes with animal fat or oil, there are a few recipes online that swear by using an unexpected ingredient - mayonnaise.
The thought behind this is that it is similar to tossing your potatoes in oil, just with a little extra flavour. As someone who isn’t a big fan of mayonnaise, I thought this would be terrible; however, the results were surprisingly great. The roast setting on the air fryer helped cook the potatoes very similarly to the oven.
The Cuisinart AirTwin XXL Dual Zone Air Fryer, which retails for £149.99 on their website and has an average five-star rating, is what I used to cook these roasties. Customers have described it as a “must-have” for those who air fry regularly, so I was keen to give it a try.
Upon opening the box, I was met with the appliance’s simple yet sleek design. I didn’t even need to look up any instructions to get this set up. I washed the baskets and crisper plates and plugged in the air fryer.
All the icons are self-explanatory, offering adjustable presets, synchronised baskets, and plenty of other useful features. With a dual basket set-up, 10.4L capacity, and a decent price tag, the Cuisinart gives Ninja a run for its money.
It can cook different foods and synchronise the finish time for them. You’ll also get easy controls, versatility, and speed, which I experienced by cooking my roast potatoes. Four Maris Piper potatoes One and a half tablespoons of mayonnaise Salt I started by peeling and chopping the potatoes into roughly one-inch pieces before parboiling for 15 minutes.
This helped to achieve a lovely fluffy interior and meant the potatoes cooked quicker in the air fryer. The next step was to add the potatoes to a bowl with mayonnaise and make sure they were fully coated. After, I transferred the potatoes to one of the air fryer drawers, making sure that I put the crisper plate in the basket, as this will elevate the potatoes so air can evenly circulate under and around them for extra-crisp results all over.
I was surprised at how incredibly spacious the drawers are despite them not being wide. I was able to fit four portions of potatoes in there without the pieces overlapping each other. To turn it on, you only need to plug it in and press the power button before choosing your cooking options and which basket you’re using.
For this recipe, I used the “Roast” function, which automatically sets the temperature to 200°C for 20 minutes. Although with the presets, you still have the option to alter the temperature and cooking time. I also made sure to press the "Shake Reminder" option, which alerted me after 13 minutes.
This is great for anyone who forgets to check on their food whilst cooking. Once the 20 minutes were up, I noticed that the potatoes needed a little longer, so I left them in for a further 10 minutes. I love that instead of turning off after the cooking time is up, like most air fryers, this one automatically switches to a keep warm function.
I then just finished the potatoes off with a generous sprinkling of sea salt. The roast potatoes came out beautifully crisp and better than I’ve ever made them in an air fryer. While you do get a hint of mayonnaise, it’s barely noticeable, and the texture more than makes up for it.
The worst part of cooking anything in the air fryer is always the hassle of cleaning the drawers afterwards, but not with this air fryer. The grease just wiped away easily, as there are no small nooks or crannies for grease and food to get trapped in. The only people who might want to steer clear are those with compact countertops and small kitchens.
Even then, if this replaces your oven, it’s worth clearing some space for. With 40% off right now, the Cuisinart Airtwin XXL Dual Zone Air Fryer can be picked up on Amazon for just £89.99 , and many customers on the site have given it 4.
5-star recommendations. Alternatively, there are other air fryers on the market. If you’re after a dual-air fryer that takes up less space, you can purchase the Ninja Double Stack XL 9.
5L Air Fryer, which retails for £269.99 . For those who are looking for an air fryer that adds a pop of colour to their kitchen, they can purchase Swan’s Retro 8L Dual Basket Air Fryer, which retails for £99.
99 currently down from £129.99 ..
