Midweek meals: 5 quick and easy lunch recipes to make in your airfryer

Make your lunch hour fuss free with these delicious recipes 

Midweek meals in the airfryer

Fully loaded Air Fryer Potato Wedges with Easy Chilli

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

Golden crispy chips wedges, topped with my fabulous chilli, smoked crispy bacon, vintage Cheddar, pickled jalapeno chillies, chopped spring onion and coriander and served with garlic mayonnaise

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the wedges:

• 4 medium-sized Maris Piper potatoes

• A splash of olive oil

• For the chilli:

• 2 medium onions

• 3 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp ground cumin

• 2 tsp chilli flakes

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 400g lean beef mince

• 2 tins cherry or chopped tomatoes

• 2 tins black beans

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar

• Suggested toppings:

• A few slices of smoked streaky bacon per person

• Grated vintage Cheddar

• Chopped spring onions

• Pickled jalapeno peppers

• Garlic mayonnaise

• Chopped coriander

Method

1. Chop and sauté the onions over a medium heat in a little olive oil until translucent and just turning slightly brown. This will sweeten and deepen the flavour of the dish. Crush in the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the cumin, cinnamon and chilli flakes. Stir them in well and cook for another two minutes. Add the tomato paste, stir well, cook for another minute.

2. Add the beef, keep stirring to break it up and brown the meat. This will take about five minutes. Now add the tomatoes. Drain and rinse the beans and add them to the pan as well. I use black beans in my chilli and I find they hold their shape better than kidney beans, but either will work well. Season with the salt and a good grind of black pepper. Add the cocoa powder and brown sugar and stir both in well.

3. Bring the pot to a slow boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer and cover the pan. Let the chilli simmer away for anything from forty-five minutes to an hour while you make your wedges.

4. Wash the potatoes and cut lengthways to open the skin a little. This will ensure the potatoes do not burst open in the microwave, so do not skip this step. Cook on full power for about twenty minutes until they are just cooked though. While the potatoes are in the microwave, cook some streaky bacon in your air fryer at 200°C until it is crisp, this will only take about five minutes. When it is done, set it aside. 

5. When the potatoes are baked, cut them into nice big wedges with the skin still on, I usually go for quarters or thirds depending upon the size of the potatoes. Put a tablespoon of olive oil into a large bowl, add some of the wedges and gently mix them to coat them in the oil. Do this in a few batches so that you can take care not to break up the potato wedges, it will only take a few minutes in all.

6. Place the wedges in the basket or on the trays of your air fryer and cook them at 200°C for about twenty-five minutes until they are golden brown and crispy. While they are cooking, prepare the rest of your toppings. Grate some cheddar, chop the cooked bacon, the spring onions, and some fresh coriander. You can mix up some garlic mayonnaise if you do not have any to hand by grating a clove of garlic into 200g of mayonnaise. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the mayonnaise and whisk to combine.

7. When your wedges are done, divide them between four plates. Spoon over a generous amount of the beef chilli and sprinkle over some grated Cheddar, the bacon, spring onions, jalapenos, and coriander. Serve with the garlic mayonnaise on the side and whatever other sauces you fancy.

Buddha Bowl with Air Fryer Chickpeas

Make the best out of some bedrock ingredients!

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 40 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 European

Ingredients

• For the roasted vegetables:

• 1 tbsp olive or coconut oil

• 1 sweet potato or butternut squash, cubed

• 2 beetroot, cubed

• 2 red onions, cut into eighths

• For the air fryer chickpeas:

• 1 tin chickpeas, drained

• 1 tsp olive or coconut oil

• ½ tsp cumin

• ¼ tsp paprika

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• Salt and pepper

• For the tahini dressing:

• 2 tbsp tahini

• Juice of half a lemon

• ½ tsp maple syrup

• ½ clove garlic, crushed

• Hot water

• To serve:

• Cooked and cooled bulghur wheat, Feta cheese, olives, salad leaves and cucumber and onion

Method

1. In an air fryer, tumble in the vegetables with the oil, set the air fryer to 190°C and cook for fifteen minutes, shaking once in the middle. If using a conventional oven, scatter the vegetables on an oven tray and cook at 180°C for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.

2. To cook the chickpeas, set the air fryer to 190°C and pour in the chickpeas, spices and oil, giving it a good shake to make sure that they are well covered in the spice mixture. Cook for ten minutes. If cooking in a conventional oven, lay flat on a baking sheet, combine with the spices and oil and cook at 180°C for 25-30 minutes or until crispy.

3. Cool the vegetables and chickpeas and store in covered containers in the fridge for up to five days. To make the tahini dressing, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup and garlic, thinning with hot water to reach a pouring consistency. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over your salad when ready to assemble. Store in a jar in the fridge.