The Best Lemon and Herb Roast Chicken and The Winner of The Philips Airfryer XXL

A few weeks ago I was given a Philips Airfryer XXL to try out and I have to say it exceeded my expectations. I've made some seriously delicious meals and found it to be fantastic when cooking for 1-4 people.


What I love about it: 

• There's no preheating, no fuss and no mess (it's dishwasher safe!) 
• It's great if you have kids or are cooking for 1-4 people.
• Food comes out deliciously crisp with little to no oil. 
• It works wonders for roasts and fish dishes: it far surpasses any oven when it comes to roast chicken - why? Because all the fat drips into a tray below the chicken, meaning that the skin crisps beautifully all the way round. 
• It's also great for quick reheating instead of a microwave (no more soggy pizza). 

On the down side:

• It is expensive, about R4799, so it's not something you'll purchase on a whim, but it's proven to be a seriously fantastic little helper in my kitchen. 
• The energy consumption is higher than a normal oven, but I have a 90cm oven in my kitchen, so to be honest I probably use less with the Airfryer (plus you save on pre-heating)

What I made: 

1. Roast Pork and Pumpkin 
2. Sweet Potato Wedges 
3. Stuffed Butternuts with Bulgar Wheat and Spiced Chickpeas
4. Herb-crusted Kingklip with roasted tomatoes 
5. The best Crispy Bacon
6. Perfect Roasted Veggies 
7. 3 different styles of Roast Chickens - speaking of which:

The Best Lemon and Herb Roast Chicken 

Ingredients:
Zest of 2 lemons
40g Fresh Basil
40g Fresh Coriander
60ml Olive Oil
Large pinch Salt
1.6kg Chicken

Method: 
Place the lemon zest, herbs, olive oil and salt into a food processor and blend to a paste.
Gently ease the chicken skin away from the breast, thighs and legs and spread a layer of the herb mix between the skin and the meat. Pat the skin back down again.
Pop the chicken, breast-side-down, into the Airfryer and turn onto the manual setting at 135℃ and cook for 30 minutes.
Turn the chicken over and cook for a further 30-35 minutes at the same temperature.
Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Perfection!

And finally, the winner of my #DoYouEvenAirfry online competition:
I was given an Airfryer to give away. I ran a competition for 1 week on my social media platforms. From the hundreds of entrants I received, the winner, chosen at random, is:
Claire Ellenbogen - congratulations Claire! I hope it brings you a lifetime of fuss-free cooking.