This crispy rice paper meat pie is a lighter take on a fried pastry, done in the air fryer in 15 minutes. Dip two rice paper sheets in diluted soy sauce, layer them, fill with seasoned ground beef and mozzarella, fold into a half-moon, brush with egg and sesame, and air-fry at 180 °C/350 °F for 15 minutes until golden and crunchy. Serves 2.
Pasta alla Norma is Sicily's classic eggplant pasta, ready in about 45 minutes: simmer a tomato sugo over a soffritto with basil stems, sieve it smooth, fry salted eggplant sticks until golden and glaze them with honey and vinegar, then toss rigatoni with the sauce and a Parmesan–pasta-water cream. Serves 2.
These apple ice cream pops blend whole apples into a creamy frozen treat: blitz 3 cored apples (skin on) with 2 tsp apple pie spice, ¼ cup honey and 1 cup coconut cream until smooth, freeze in molds, then dip in melted dark chocolate. Naturally dairy-free and spiced like apple pie. Makes about 6.
This no-churn strawberry ice cream needs 3 ingredients and no machine: blend 340 g frozen strawberries into a puree, whip 480 ml cold heavy cream to stiff peaks, then fold in 400 g sweetened condensed milk and the strawberry puree. Freeze 6 hours for a pale-pink, creamy ice cream flecked with real fruit. Makes about 8 servings.
These chocolate-dipped banana peanut butter ice cream bars taste like a homemade Snickers: blend 1 banana, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 75 g yogurt, ¼ cup heavy cream and vanilla, freeze in popsicle molds for 4 hours, then dip in melted chocolate studded with chopped peanuts. The ice-cold pops set the shell instantly. Makes 4.
Homemade Raffaello ice cream needs 5 ingredients and no machine: whisk 75 g coconut flakes with ½ cup yogurt, 1 cup coconut milk, vanilla and a drizzle of honey, let the flakes soften, then freeze in popsicle molds for 4 hours. Roll each pop in extra coconut flakes for that signature Raffaello crunch. Makes 6.
Make iced ice-cream coffee in under 5 minutes with no machine: stand a chocolate-shelled ice cream bar in a glass, melt the shell with a splash of hot water for a sweet base, add ice, then shake 2 sachets of instant coffee with sugar and water until thick and foamy and pour it over. The result is cold, creamy, and ridiculously good — silky melted chocolate ice cream under a cloud of hand-shaken coffee foam, with the bar itself doubling as your stirrer.
Bake these lemon blueberry muffins at 180°C (350°F) for 20-25 minutes: whip 2 eggs with 1 cup sugar, beat in sour cream and oil, fold in flour and lemon, then pour the batter over berries you've spooned into the cups first. That order keeps the crumb light and golden instead of bruised purple. Soft and tangy inside, with bursts of juicy blueberry under a sharp lemon glaze that sets to a glossy crackle.
Air fry these rice paper garlic cheese pockets at 180°C (350°F) for 15 minutes. Soften each rice paper sheet in an egg-and-soy-sauce bath, spoon in a filling of 200 g feta, 100 g cheddar, 4 crushed garlic cloves and 1 egg, then fold into a triangle and air fry. The garlic mellows as it cooks for a rich, punchy hit, while the outside turns paper-thin crisp around a gooey, molten-cheese centre.
Air fry doubled rice paper rolls of seasoned ground chicken at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes for a shatter-crisp shell and juicy center. Wrap the mirin-spiked chicken filling in two sheets of softened rice paper, roll in black and white sesame seeds, then snip into bite-sized pieces. They eat like little hot sushi rolls with chicken, the crackly sesame crust giving way to a tender filling you dunk in teriyaki.
Make a rice paper breakfast crunch wrap by scrambling 2 eggs into 3 crisped bacon slices, then wrapping the scramble with avocado and 1/2 tsp chili paste in 1 soaked rice paper sheet and pan-frying about 2 minutes per side until golden. The shell shatters into smoky bacon, soft moist curds, creamy avocado, and a gentle kick of heat in every bite.
Make a gluten-free rice paper croissant by whisking 4 eggs with 2 tbsp melted butter, 1 tsp cinnamon, a few drops of vanilla, and a pinch of baking powder, then dipping 3 rice paper sheets in the egg, stacking them, folding into a triangle, rolling into a croissant, and air frying at 180°C (350°F) for about 10 minutes until golden. The result is a shatteringly crisp, cinnamon-scented shell around a custardy egg-soaked center, light and airy enough to eat plain or loaded with your favourite spread.