Opinion – Recipes from Marcão: Air fryer potato has the taste of Belgium without messing up the kitchen

Belgium is a very small country — a little bigger than Alagoas — but full of interesting things. From there come the comics of the adventurous reporter Tintin, some of the best beers in the world, fantastic chocolates and a football team that always gives work in the World Cups, although it has never been champion. Will try again this year, at the Qatar World Cup.

In terms of gastronomy, Belgium also stands out for its waffles and for its excellence in French fries. Although Americans call French fries “french fries”, Belgians are the best.

The classic combination of Belgian fries is with mussels (or “moules et frites” in French), but it doesn’t need anything to accompany the fries. Brussels is full of trailers and tents that sell potatoes and that’s all—in fact, they almost always have a selection of sauces and condiments.

Frying potatoes is dirty and difficult work, which can be frustrating if you don’t master the temperature of the oil. For this reason, almost every restaurant works with electric fryers equipped with a thermostat. At home, it seems to be an expendable device.

On the other hand, the air fryer has arrived to open new frontiers in home cooking. It’s a fantastic piece of equipment – ​​as long as you understand that it doesn’t fry anything, but bakes quickly and evenly with the circulation of hot air.

The potato stick made in the air fryer has no mistake and, in my opinion, it is as or even more delicious than the deep frying. For a totally successful potato chip, just obey a few basic rules.

The main one: do not overfill the air fryer basket. Make just one layer of potatoes — if you stack food, air won’t circulate properly in the middle of that stack.

Other than that, it is interesting to wash the potato to remove excess starch and dry it well before preparation. Conveniently, the air fryer is a dehydrating machine. This service can be done by the device operating at low temperature.

Keep in mind that the adjustment of each device is different, and that the temperatures indicated on the selector are not the most exact thing in the world. The first time you make potatoes, monitor progress very closely and, if necessary, make time and/or temperature adjustments.

To make the potato more similar to the one on the streets of Brussels, I’ve included a bonus recipe: roasted garlic mayonnaise.

Belgian potato in air fryer

Yield: 2 servings

Difficulty: easy

INGREDIENTS

2 large potatoes (or 3 medium).

1 tablespoon of olive oil or oil.

1 pinch of salt.

PREPARATION

1. You can use the peeled or unpeeled potato. If leaving the skin on, wash the potato well before cutting it.

2. Cut toothpicks about 1 cm high and 1 cm wide, along the length of the potato. Let them soak for 10 minutes, rinse and drain.

3. Dry the potato sticks in the air fryer at 80°C for half an hour or until all moisture is removed.

4. Season the potato with oil and salt. Bake for 25 minutes at 160°C, opening and shaking the basket from time to time, and in the final 5 minutes, raise the temperature to 200°C to make a golden crust. Eat immediately with roasted garlic mayonnaise.

Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise

Yield: 4 servings

Difficulty: easy

INGREDIENTS

5 cloves of garlic.

1 egg.

1 pinch of salt.

Juice of ½ Rangpur lime (or Tahiti).

Vegetable oil (as needed).

Way of doing

1. Roast the garlic in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 200°C. peel.

2. In a blender or with a mixer, beat the garlic and the egg. Add the lemon juice and salt. Always beating, add the oil in a continuous stream until it thickens and reaches the consistency of mayonnaise.