Caitríona Redmond: The cycle of saving — and my home-made air-fryer 3-in-1

Plus: the joys of potato starch - a miracle ingredient for crispy coatings and golden colour

Pic: iStock

Just a week and a half after the return to school I am saving again for September, but now 2024. I got into this habit several years ago by putting €5 a week into an envelope for the end of June.

I think back to those days of saving a fiver a week for back to school now and marvel at how innocent I was. 

With a giant teen whose adult-sized feet cost adult-sized prices every time they need replacing, likewise uniforms, I wouldn’t be able to put uniforms on them on €260 per year.

I totted it up this morning and getting the boys back to school this September cost me just shy of €500, thankfully less than previous years. 

The youngest will start in secondary in a year's time though. I know I will need to fork out for a mandatory iPad, brand-new uniforms and PE uniforms, and then the middle child will move into TY. I’m reliably informed that could, potentially, be more expensive than First Year.

So €20 per week it is for now, and if I get to June and I can keep the costs below €840 then I will convert whatever is leftover to something else just as important. I doubt it though, in fact, it may be double the cost so perhaps €40 is more realistic, even though it sounds like quite a stretch.

I’m moving onwards to my next kitchen-saving adventure though and made a massive batch of my berry booze again this week - if you missed the recipe last year you can find it here. 

They have proven to be quite the nifty gift for special occasions all year around so I try to keep a couple of jars in the back of the press. This time around it’ll do for December.

While I might be frugally crafting and planning for the future, I am not neglecting our own needs either. 

There’s a sneaky treat we love here at the weekends. The boys are happy with a freezer pizza but myself, I love a 3-in-1. Okay, it’s not just me, it’s my husband’s favourite. 

I know it’s not the healthiest or cheapest takeaway. For the uninitiated, this is a tray of chips, rice, and curry sauce poured over the top. 

As I scrimp my way around the budget, the best way around our cravings is to make the takeaway classic at home.

This week’s recipes include triple-cooked air fryer chips and a 3-in-1. All in the name of saving money.

Pic: iStock

Home Economics

It has been a revelation buying Irish potato starch to thicken my sauces and crisp up fried meats. Since early Summer I’ve been using Meade Farm potato starch, they are an Irish company and it’s 100% gluten-free. 

No more making a slurry mixture with cornstarch and cold water or plain flour. 

I can’t emphasise how much this has changed my sauce-making in the kitchen. Did you know that potato starch gelatinises at a lower temperature than cornstarch and gives a glossier, silkier texture? 

There’s just a month to go to Irish Potato Day in early October so I recommend you seek this product out beforehand.

When frying meat or vegetables to make them crispy I previously would have chosen plain, seasoned flour. 

Nowadays I use potato starch which gives a consistent golden colour and super-crispy texture. 

Plain flour can give a soggy space between a breaded coating and the meat inside, this rarely happens for me with potato starch. 

I have become a convert to this Irish-made product which saves on food miles and is consequently more eco-friendly. 

If you see it in the shops seek it out. I know it’s available in several of the main supermarket retailers.

Triple-Cooked Air-Fryer Chips

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

Ignore the myth that you can’t cook the perfect chip in the air fryer. Cooking perfect chips is just as much about the preparation as it is about the ultimate flavour.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes, skin on

• 2 tbsp oil (I prefer to use sunflower oil)

• ½ tsp paprika

• 1 pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Scrub the potatoes and slice into chunky steak-cut chips. Spread the chips out flat on a chopping board and pat dry with a towel or kitchen paper.

2. Once dry, place the chips into a large bowl and add the oil, paprika, and sea salt. Mix so that the chips are coated in the oil and seasoning.

3. Decant the chips into the air fryer and cook at 140 degrees for 15 minutes, shaking the cooking basket every 5 minutes. After 15 minutes, set the air fryer to 170°C for 10 minutes, cook and shake the basket every five minutes.

4. Finally, set the air fryer to 210°C for 5 minutes and cook until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Enjoy while still hot.

Homemade Three-In-One

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

I prefer not to fry the rice because it makes the meal lighter and easier to digest but feel free to do so if you like.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 batch triple cooked air fryer chips (see recipe on ieFood)

• 120g jasmine rice

• 2 tsps salt

• 1 small white onion

• 1 medium carrot

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 red pepper

• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil

• 1 tbsp curry powder

• 1 tbsp potato starch

• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. Start by preparing the chips and getting them into the fryer for the first cook. Once they are started in the fryer, pour the rice and about 250ml of cold water into a small saucepan with a lid. Add 1 tsp of salt and stir. Lid on the saucepan and heat on medium until the water begins to bubble. Once bubbling, reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes then turn the heat off and leave the saucepan on the heat for 10 minutes before the rice is ready to serve.

2. While the rice is cooking, peel and slice the onion, carrot, garlic and red pepper finely. You can do this by hand but honestly its fine to chop in a food processor and this will save you time.

3. Take a heavy bottomed saucepan, pour in the oil and heat to medium. Fry off the vegetables until they have softened. This will take 5-10 minutes. When the vegetables are soft sprinkle the tablespoon of curry powder on top and stir to coat the vegetables. This will activate the aromas. Pour in half a cup of hot water and stir well to make a watery curry sauce. To thicken the sauce, sprinkle in 1 tbsp of potato starch rather than flour. This makes for a very light sauce that is naturally gluten free.

4. Stir the sauce until thickened, then season with salt and pepper to taste. I recommend a light dusting of white pepper for extra dry heat.

5. Serve your homemade three-in-one in a lunchbox with the rice in the bottom, chips on the top, and a generous pour of curry sauce. Of course you can always serve it on a plate but for the real chip-shop effect use a plastic takeout tray.