I Apparently some people on these pages have been known to share my old-fashioned, mean-spirited views on the latest kitchen gadgets. When young chefs rave about it, I scratch my head in bewilderment. Air fryer? Nothing special, just a small oven. Our Place’s “Miracle” Always Pan? Comes with a non-stick lid. Are there no end to the ways we can convince people to spend big bucks replicating equipment they already own?
So, first of all, let me say that no one is more shocked than I am that I found myself obsessed with a completely unnecessary necessity this summer: outdoor cooking kits. Especially since, yes, it’s just a small oven, and no, it doesn’t do anything I can’t already do. do.
Like many people, I’ve been hooked on wood-fired pizza ovens over the past few years, a habit that has continued throughout lockdown. I didn’t use it much on pizza (although that would be great), but I enjoyed the benefits of a searing heat and a puff of smoke on whole fish, butterfly-winged legs of lamb, and cotes de boeuf. I used it for everything else I received. My Ooni is my go-to for outdoor cooking, helped by the fact that I have free and plentiful quality fuel in my garden, having recently lost an oak tree.
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At first, he loves to light fires, adapts to their eccentric behavior, and struggles to overcome the terrifying heat, but he cuts the wood to fit in the annoyingly small fire pit and cares for it until it warms up. However, there is no denying that they are particular about being able to withstand heat. Guess how long the heat will last. I don’t mind admitting that my enthusiasm for working on it diminishes with each use.
The new Ninja Woodfire Electric Outdoor Oven has no such problems. As its rugged name well suggests, it squeezes all the romance out of outdoor cooking, but replaces it with great practicality. You cannot be based too far from the nearest electrical outlet. Wood pellets can be disconcerting because they look like a mix of maggots and dry dog food, but they do make cooking with wood a pain. He made the spreads you see here, including homemade baba ganoush, flatbread, giant roasted red snapper, pizza, and brownies, in just over two hours. No wonder I stand next to it and look like a proud new dad.
The Ninja’s selling point is that it combines the immediacy and precision of electric heat with the smoky flavor of barbecue thanks to wood pellets that smolder in a small firebox before the smoke is sent to the oven. I first encountered that winning combo five years ago at a Traeger BBQ in a luxury villa rental in France and was instantly hooked – until the moment I found out it cost £2,000. Since then, they have released smaller and cheaper models).
The Ninja looks more like an oven than a barbecue and costs £350. Plug in and load pellets. There are two options. Cherry A light smoke of maple and oak or a firm smoke of hickory, cherry, maple and oak. Choose from a variety of options including smoker, dehydrate, bake, and roast. For pizza and pizza, you set the temperature, it heats up in about 10 minutes, and you’re on your way.
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To be honest, the various settings seem designed for people who would go to the trouble of using the microwave presets rather than just pressing “go.” The smoker can reach temperatures up to 180 degrees Celsius, but the roasting function cannot go below 240 degrees Celsius. Pizza mode has a subset of options: Artisan, Thin, New York, Deep Pan, Calzone, and Custom (the very definition of pointless complexity). I don’t understand why I can’t just turn it on and set it to the temperature I want. But after a little fiddling, I was able to set the desired time and temperature in each case, with the option to always add smoke.
It was great for cooking eggplant for baba ganoush. The vegetables fell apart soft within 30 minutes and the sweet smoked pulp was ready to be unloaded. I drained it in a colander for an hour and mixed it with garlic, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, and a little olive oil.
Next, I set the Ninja to bake and added a tray of brownies made according to the recipe in the instructions. I should have known that 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius was way too long to get that promised fluffiness, and even though I’m a big fan of smoked flavors in a lot of things, brownies were one of them. Not one. I have no intention of repeating that little experiment, but I’m looking forward to making my own hot smoked salmon another time. You’ll never be able to keep the Ooni consistently cool enough for that.
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The homemade flatbread was delicious on the pizza stone. The pizza would have cooked, too, if I had let it sit a little longer and not burnt the edges (my guilty secret is that I didn’t bother making the dough myself, I used Crosta & Mollica’s amazing sourdough pizza base and added my own) (that’s probably why it didn’t take that long).
Then we move on to the main event, the beautiful sea bream. I shoved it into the included heavy metal tray, surrounded it with tomatoes, olives, capers, and parsley, and drizzled it with olive oil. For that, I used the Gourmet Roast feature. This feature can be programmed to start on high heat and then automatically reduce the temperature. This is useful for coloring large pieces of meat (or fish) and then gently cooking them. A 1.5kg fish was completed in 20 minutes. delicious.
So it turned out to be an unexpected hit. But don’t tell me now that I have to reconsider my opinion about air fryers.
4 outdoor recipes by Tony Turnbull
Flatbread, baba ganoush, baked sea bream, brownie
flatbread
For 4 people
These are fermented using baking powder instead of yeast. To be honest, if you haven’t turned on your oven yet, you’ll be frying them in a frying pan with a little oil, but they work almost as well as baked ones.
material
• Self-raising flower 300g
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Greek yogurt 300g
• Olive oil 50ml
Method
1. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add yogurt and oil and use a spoon or knife to form a rough dough.
2. Dust the worktop with flour and quickly knead the dough until smooth and pliable. Divide into 4 equal parts and roll out roughly.
3. Cook at 180C fan/gas 6 for about 10 minutes until puffed up and charred in places.
Baba Ganoush
Gray Hutton of the era
Baba Ganoush
We want a thick, earthy texture here, so if you’re blitzing it with a mixer, give it a few short pulses. If you mix too much, it will become watery.
For 4 people
material
• 3 eggplants
• 2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• Juice of 1 lemon
• A large pinch of ground cumin.
• salt and pepper
• Garnish with chopped parsley and olive oil.
Method
1. Grill or roast the eggplant until charred and tender. Place over a barbecue or gas flame, turn the eggplant every 5 minutes using tongs or rub with oil, and place in the oven at 220C fan/gas 9 for 40 minutes.
2. When the eggplant is completely broken down, let it cool slightly, then cut it in half lengthwise and scrape out the pulp with a spoon. Let this sit in a colander or sieve for 30 minutes, then drain.
3. Transfer to a bowl, add garlic, tahini, lemon, and cumin and mix well with a fork to create a thick texture. Season to taste and garnish with olive oil and parsley.
Oven-roasted sea bream with tomatoes and olives
Gray Hutton of the era
Oven-roasted sea bream with tomatoes and olives
If you want to make this an all-in-one dish, cut the baby potatoes in half and wait about 20 minutes before adding the fish and remaining ingredients.
For 4 people
• 1 large sea bream (1.5 kg) or 2 small sea bream, scaled and gutted.
• salt and pepper
• 250g plum tomatoes, halved
• 1 lemon (sliced)
• 2 handfuls of pitted olives
• 2 tablespoons capers (drained)
• 1 bunch fresh parsley (chopped)
• Olive oil 50ml
• 1 glass of white wine (optional)
Method
1. Heat the oven to 170°C fan/gas. 5. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper, make 3-4 incisions on both sides of the skin, and place on the oven tray. Season well with salt and pepper.
2. Scatter most of the tomatoes, lemons, olives, capers and parsley and drizzle everything with olive oil. Add wine if desired.
3. Place in the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. Serve with a salad or Jersey Royal.
tony’s brownie
Gray Hutton of the era
Brownie
This is a recipe according to the Ninja booklet. I think it would have been best if the cooking time was shorter (no smoke). Remove when the center is still a little wobbly and the sides are starting to peel away from the mold.
material
coffee 75ml
• 225g butter
• 275g dark chocolate chips
• Golden caster sugar 300g
• 3 medium eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 150g soft flour
• Cocoa powder 100g
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
Method
1. Grease a 20x30cm brownie tray, line with baking paper and set aside.
2. Place the coffee, butter and 200g of chocolate in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until evenly mixed and melted, then remove from heat. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Then slowly add the melted chocolate mixture and mix until smooth.
3. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a small bowl and stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture until evenly combined and smooth. Transfer the batter to the prepared brownie tray and top with the remaining chocolate chips, pressing them slightly.
Four. Bake at 160C fan/gas 4 for 25-30 minutes. Let cool in the mold, then remove and cut into squares.