Books & Literature

Cookbook Review: Air Fryer Express, by George Georgievski

By Rod Lewis

Posted on February 4, 2021

COOKBOOK: 60 air fryer recipes and 30 lunchbox inspirations cooked up by the School Lunchbox Dad in a colourful, easy to follow recipe book.

I finally made pork crackling. 'nuf said about how much I love this book!

4.5

The “School Lunchbox Dad”, George Georgievski, is a popular social media personality who shares his creative and fun ideas for school lunchboxes. While many of his creations are Bento-style meals for his two daughters, he more recently discovered the time-saving and more economical air fryer, which he’s now adopted as an oft-used alternative to his conventional oven.

He shares 60 air fryer recipes, including his grandfather’s own geverk recipe (a New York-style pretzel covered in sesame seeds and cooked with honey), then tops off the book with 30 full-page colour images of Bento box-style inspirations for lunch boxes.

His section on Air Fryer Basics introduces the device, discussing why air fryers are good, how to choose one, and equipment to buy to make your air fryer more effective (like ramekins and baking dishes). He also includes his top five air fryer tips that range from preventing burns to your choice of oils. What he doesn’t discuss is the shape and design of a fryer’s basket, which will affect which dishes can be cooked from his book.

This is a colourful tome, both in design and in its use of photography, which is primary by Nikole Ramsay. The bright yellow cover is a giveaway to the joyous vibe that Georgievski’s writing and presentation style gives. Even the four chapter headings for the recipes bring a smile: Sandwiches are BORING!, Bar snacks for when you’re nowhere near a bar, Dinners that will win you ‘Parent of the Year’, and Sweets that make you go mmm…

The recipes themselves use headings like You’ll need all this for the ingredients list, Now do this for the cooking method, and Other cool stuff for additional tips and ideas. Within the selections are pizza scrolls, bread rolls, pastries, fried chicken, pork ribs, fritters, moussaka, salads, muffins, apple pie, and a good combination of vegetarian and meat choices.

Air Fryer Express caters to the novice user and the more expert air fryer cook. It makes cooking fun and interesting, even when some of the ideas need to be adapted to suit the air fryer model you have on hand.

Pork Crackling Lettuce Cups (page 62)

In all my years, over innumerable attempts, I have never managed to make my crackling crunchy. Like the champion I feel now, I never gave up and here is the recipe that has finally made me a winner. It’s only taken half a decade to get here. Georgievski’s recipe is ridiculously basic but it works. My own air fryer is the $49, basic 3.5L model from Woolworths supermarket which may be why the cooking time was almost double that suggested by this recipe. Timing aside, though, this incredibly delicious meal works like a dream, both in the cooker and on the plate. Bring on the calories; I’ve finally got crackling to eat!

Thai-Style Satay Chicken (page 101)

Thai food is my favourite cuisine, so this particular recipe was too tempting to resist. Turns out, the temptation was justified. I would have enjoyed a slightly stronger satay flavour, which is easily remedied the next time I make this. I dare say my choice of a thicker “protein peanut butter” instead of a softer and more common brand like Kraft may be the culprit rather than the recipe itself. You need a peanut butter that won’t clump. My air fryer basket is circular with ventilation slats on the sides, so a liquid dish such as this was always going to be an issue. I don’t have a solid bowl or basket that fits inside the air fryer, so I improvised by creating an alfoil lining to keep the juices from leaking out. It worked, rescuing me from the need to swap over to my conventional oven. Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet

Distributed by: Pan Macmillan Australia
Released: January 2021
RRP: $26.99