In Europe, an air fryer is something like this:
It is in fact called “air fryer” by the manufacturer, Philips. People use it to emulate a deep fat fryer without using fat. It is hardly used in Mediterranean cuisine. Why?
In Mediterranean cuisine, very few things are fried. Think of hot summers - who wants a deep fryer in her or his kitchen? Because there is no tradition to use deep fat fryers there is no use for air fryers.
Comments reminded me of a few food items which are fried indeed in Mediterranean cuisine, like small fish, cuttlefish rings, vegetable balls or falafel. Also, french fries have become popular, especially among tourists.
However, deep-fried dishes may exist in Mediterrenean cuisine, but I would not consider them neither as typical nor as traditional. The bulk of Mediterranean cooking uses other cooking methods.
Maybe the original question aims at healthy cooking, Mediterranean-style, but without using fat or oil. Therefore, the question about air fryers. I have an air fryer, but I hardly use it because the results are generally disappointing. When it comes to fried fish or falafel, it is the fat that contributes to the taste.
And the healthy effects of Mediterranean cuisine come mainly from using olive oil, eating a lot of fish and lots of vegetables and salads. Fatless cooking would not help.
Typical Mediterranean cooking methods include:
Grilling - meats and fish are typically grilled. The grill works open-air and perfectly meets Mediterranean lifestyle.
Baking - think of oven-baked lamb or moussaka in Greece or Italian pizza. Probably the most traditional form of cooking.
Sautéeing in a pan - think of paella.
Simmering - think of soups and stews, e.g. a bouillabaisse.
EDIT:
I forgot to mention the Spanish plancha - strangely, because I used it myself for cooking. Actually, it is a kind of large pan and it can certainly not substitute by an air fryer.
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