Chicken with French Fries and Homemade Apple Sauce in Air Fryer
Tender chicken drumsticks, crispy fries, and sweet-tart apple sauce, all cooked in the air fryer for a quick and delicious dinner.
Steps
- 1
Cut the potatoes into sticks (french fries). Boil them in salted water for 5 minutes, then drain and dry thoroughly with a clean kitchen towel.
- 2
Place the potato sticks in the air fryer basket and cook at 120°C (250°F) for 15 minutes. Remove and let steam escape.
- 3
In a bowl, marinate the chicken drumsticks with apple cider vinegar, tarragon, crushed garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- 4
Cut the apples in half, remove the core, and wrap each half tightly in aluminum foil.
- 5
Increase the air fryer temperature to 180°C (350°F). Place the marinated chicken drumsticks and foil-wrapped apples in the basket and cook for 5 minutes.
- 6
Toss the pre-cooked potato sticks with a little oil, then add them back to the air fryer alongside the chicken and apples. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes, until everything is golden and crispy.
- 7
Remove the foil from the apples and mash them into a chunky apple sauce. Serve alongside the chicken and fries.
- 8
For the mayonnaise: whisk the egg yolk with mustard, a splash of apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking continuously until thick and emulsified.
Shopping list
4 potatoes, 4 chicken legs, 2 apples, apple cider vinegar, dried tarragon, garlic, vegetable oil, salt, pepper, 1 egg yolk, mustard, oil for mayonnaise
Recipe story
This recipe combines the European tradition of roasted chicken drumsticks with fries, a staple in French and German cuisines, with sweet-tart apple sauce typical of English cooking. In rural Central Europe, apples were often used to balance the richness of fatty meats. The adaptation to the air fryer reflects modern trends towards quick and healthy cooking.
Ingredient Secrets
Black pepper
Known as 'black gold' in antiquity, pepper was so valuable that it served as currency and tribute. In the Middle Ages, Venetian merchants controlled the pepper trade, and individual peppercorns were often counted. Legend has it that when Alaric, king of the Visigoths, demanded tribute from Rome, he included 3,000 pounds of pepper.
Sea salt
Sea salt, extracted from ocean waters by evaporation, was one of the most precious goods of antiquity, used both as food and as currency. In ancient Rome, soldiers were paid with salt, which is the origin of the word 'salary'. Salt roads connected entire civilizations, and in the Middle Ages, salt was so valuable it was called 'white gold'.
Garlic
Native to Central Asia, garlic was already known in ancient Egypt, where it was given to slaves to boost their strength. In ancient Greece, athletes consumed it before competitions, and in Rome, legionaries considered it essential for courage. During the Middle Ages, it was used to ward off vampires and the plague.
Cloves
Cloves, the dried buds of the exotic Syzygium aromaticum tree, were one of the most prized spices of the ancient world, often called 'aromatic gold'. In the Middle Ages, Venetian merchants controlled the clove trade, bringing them from the Maluku Islands, the only place they grew, and selling them at exorbitant prices in Europe.
Potato
Although today it seems indispensable on the table, the potato was long viewed with suspicion in Europe. Arriving from the Andes in the 16th century, it was considered a diabolical plant, even poisonous, due to its toxic leaves and fruits. It wasn't until the 18th century, thanks to promoters like Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, that the potato became a staple food, saving Europe from famine.
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