Lilly Higgins: My air fryer is now a beloved kitchen essential, and here’s one of my favourite recipes

The most precious items in my kitchen have always been my large chopping knife, wooden chopping board and wooden spoons from Hewn spoons in Ennistymon. I use all three every day. They are followed closely by my citrus reamer, also from Hewn, and my OXO salad spinner.

But now I have to add something else to my list of beloved kitchen essentials. Along with half the country, I’ve become enamoured with my air fryer. I resisted one for ages. I’ve never owned a microwave and don’t like the way it heats the crockery instead of the food. The air fryer, on the other hand, has an amazing reheating ability. It really is capable of so much and, six months on (over the honeymoon phase at this stage), I’m still in awe.

I can cook most things in it. It’s like a mini oven and so much more energy efficient. There isn’t as big an internal area to heat and it cooks faster, meaning it’s running for less time.

Baked potatoes can take an eternity to cook in the oven, but they take only 20 minutes in the air fryer. Similarly, sweet potatoes turn soft and pillowy inside while getting that distinctive sweet potato caramelisation on the outside. I use oil with a high smoke point such as scentless coconut oil to cook these. You can melt a little and spread it over the potatoes, or use a handy coconut oil spray.

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Sweet potatoes are fantastic with smoky earthy spices such as cumin, smoked sweet paprika and garam masala. Here, I’m using a classic Middle Eastern spice blend, baharat. Use your own favourite. The maple and soy swirled tahini sauce is creamy, with sweetness and umami deliciousness. I’ve used chickpeas here but butter beans, cannellini or even kidney beans will work well.

Recipe: Baked sweet potato with tahini sauce

Lilly’s Kitchen Tips

• Like so many oil-based sauces, this tahini sauce may begin to split, so keep whisking in a little more boiling water to emulsify it. No matter how curdled it appears, hot water and whisking will fix it.
• Precook potatoes for quick and easy meal preparation, they can be filled and reheated within minutes.
• Make double the amount of this sauce as it’s fantastic on so many things. Try it on roasted vegetables or use it to dress a kale salad then scatter with toasted seeds.