Air-fried apple with walnuts & cinnamon
Apples stuffed with walnuts, red dates and a pinch of cinnamon, air-fried until soft and juicy — fragrant, warming comfort for Cold Dew.
- 28 min
- Serves 2
- Air-fry
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yang Deficiency means feeling the cold, so raw, cool fruit is best avoided. Apples are in season at Cold Dew; baked with cinnamon and walnuts, their coolness turns warming — they warm the kidneys and chase off cold while still easing autumn dryness.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 18 min- 1Wash the apples, halve them and scoop out the cores with a teaspoon to make a small hollow.
- 2Crush the walnuts and mix with the chopped red dates, brown sugar and cinnamon, then pile into the hollows.
- 3Sit the apples in a foil tray with 2 tbsp water and air-fry at 180°C for 15–18 minutes, until the apple is soft and the walnuts are toasted.
- 4Eat warm, spooning the juices from the tray over the top. For the office, bake them the night before and microwave for 1 minute.
Cautions
- Walnuts are a tree nut — if you are allergic, leave them out or use pumpkin seeds.
- Cinnamon is heating; leave it out if you have a sore throat, dry mouth or fever.
Chef's tips
- Fuji or red apples turn the sweetest. No air fryer? Bake in the oven at 180°C for 20–25 minutes.
The TCM view
Apple is sweet, sour and cool; it creates fluids, eases dryness and supports digestion, and baking takes away most of its coolness. Cinnamon is pungent, sweet and very hot and boosts yang — a pinch is plenty. Walnuts are sweet and warm and strengthen the kidneys; red dates and brown sugar are sweet and warm. Warming without drying — right for low yang in a dry season.
