There may be occasional trouble in paradise… 

Go to this link and read the thorough “low-down” from Hip Pressure Cooking. 

Learn about the adjustments you need to make when you use a “pc” on an induction cooktop versus gas or electric.

Here’s a great tip for making chicken broth at the same time that you are making a soup:

Whenever you eat bone-in chicken, freeze the bones with a little meat still clinging to them. 

Once you’ve accumulated a nice handful of bones, throw them into any soup you are pressure cooking.  (For ease in removing the bones after cooking, numerous readers have suggested tucking them into a cheesecloth packet and closing the packet with a silicon cooking band.  I think this is a great idea!)

Case in point:  over the weekend, I made a nice bean soup using 1 pound of large (unsoaked) limas.  I made the broth from 8 cups of water, a sauteed chopped onion, 4 large sun-dried tomatoes, and 2 teaspoons of vegetable broth powder plus the chicken bones, of course.  To all of this, I added the dried limas.

10 minutes under high pressure plus the natural pressure release: the limas were meltingly tender and the soup broth had a strong, deep chicken flavor.

After cooking, I removed the bones, then stirred in lots of fresh dill, lemon juice, and lemon zest.  I also added some cubes of roasted chicken. The soup was a big hit. 

Happy cooking!

Ingredients

Here’s a very popular recipe from my best-selling Pressure Perfect.   Be sure to check out the Transformations below suggesting different ways you can take this basic recipe and create three totally new dishes.

By using ground meat instead of cubes, the cooking time of this flavor-packed chili is dramatically reduced. I’ve added diced sausage to enhance the texture and give the chili extra kick. Cocoa powder deepens the flavor.

Serve the chili accompanied by rice, polenta, or corn bread—or spoon it into taco shells and serve with one or more of the optional garnishes.

Yield : Serves 5 to 6

Cooking Time : 4 minutes high pressure

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
• 2 pounds lean ground beef, pork, turkey, or lamb (or a combination)
• 2 cups coarsely chopped onions
• ½ cup water
• 3 to 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 1½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ pound chorizo or other spicy cured sausage, finely chopped (use a food processor)
• 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• One can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes or diced tomatoes with green chiles (with liquid)
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, pushed through a press
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

FOR THE OPTIONAL GARNISHES

• Sour cream and chopped cilantro
• Grated cheddar cheese and shredded lettuce
• Chopped red onion
• Tortilla chips

Directions

Heat the oil in a 4-quart or larger cooker. Stir in the cumin seeds and toast for 20 seconds. Add the ground meat in small batches, stirring vigorously after you add each batch. Use a long-handled fork or spoon to break up and crumble the meat. Continue cooking over high heat until the meat is brown.

Stir in the onions and water. Take care to scrape up any browned bits sticking to bottom of cooker. Blend in 3 tablespoons of the chili powder and the cocoa. Add the chorizo and bell pepper. Pour the tomatoes on top. Do not stir after adding tomatoes.

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat bring to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 4 minutes. Turn off the heat. Quick-release the pressure. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape.

Stir in the garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste, plus the additional chili powder if needed. Simmer the chili uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are integrated, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve in bowls or lift mixture with a slotted spoon and set into taco shells. Accompany with the garnishes of your choice.

Variations

For a hotter chili, add a pinch of ground chipotle or cayenne pepper after cooking—or stir in chopped fresh jalapenos.

Transformations (Follow basic recipe except as noted.)

Chili with Beans: After pressure release, stir in 1½ cups firm-cooked pinto, kidney, or black beans, or 1 can (15 ounces) drained and rinsed.

Cuban-Style Chili (Picadillo): Reduce chili powder to 2 tablespoons and add 1/3 cup raisins. After pressure release, stir in ½ cup coarsely chopped pimento-stuffed olives along with garlic. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro. Serve over rice.

Curried Lamb or Beef with Potatoes (Keema Alu): Use ground lamb (sometimes sold as lamb patties) or beef. Omit chili powder, cocoa, chorizo, and green bell pepper. Add 2 pounds scrubbed or peeled Yukon Gold or red-skinned potatoes that have been cut into ¾-inch chunks and 10 ounces fresh or frozen cut green beans. After adding tomatoes, sprinkle 1½ tablespoons curry powder and 1 teaspoon salt on top. After cooking, eliminate garlic and oregano and stir in 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (optional), and more curry powder, if needed. If you wish, thicken stew by stirring in ½ to 1 cup yogurt. Serve over rice. Instead of optional garnishes, accompany with mango chutney or an Indian pickle, such as lime or eggplant. (I recommend Patak’s brand for both.)

PRESSURE POINT

The flavor of ground cumin doesn’t survive the high heat of pressure cooking. Use whole seeds for authentic taste and texture.

Here’s a quick and easy recipe to enjoy when you want a break from rich holiday fare.

Dried shiitake mushrooms provide depth of flavor and star anise lends its unique tangle of licorice, resin, and smokiness to this Asian-inspired split-pea soup. Ginger juice and watercress leaves offer bright finishes of taste and color to the soothing, familiar backdrop of split peas.

Yield : Serves 3 as main dish or 4 as appetizer

Ingredients

• ¾ ounce dried shiitake (about 10 small)
• 2 whole star anise “flowers”
• 2 cups boiling water, plus 4 cups additional water
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  
• 5 scallions, thinly sliced (keep white and green parts separate)
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ¼ cup dry sherry
• 1½ cups split peas, picked over and rinsed
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 5-inch chunk fresh ginger (about 4 ounces)
• 2 to 3 cups loosely packed watercress leaves (from 1 average bunch), coarsely chopped
• 1 to 3 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce (Shoyu or Tamari)
• 1½ to 3 teaspoons Asian (toasted) sesame oil (optional)
• 1 tablespoon toasted black sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Place the shiitake and star anise in a large glass measuring cup and pour the 2 cups boiling water over them. Cover and set aside until the mushrooms are tender enough to cut, usually about 10 minutes. Lift out mushrooms and star anise with a slotted spoon. Slice the caps thinly, discarding any stems (they are too woody to eat) as you go. Set the shiitake, star anise, and soaking liquid aside.

2. Heat the oil in a 6-quart or larger pressure cooker. Add the white part of the sliced scallions, the onion, and the garlic, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until they soften slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the sherry and cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the sherry evaporates, about 30 seconds. Add the 4 cups of water, split peas, sliced shiitake, star anise (discard any broken pieces), and salt. Pour in the shiitake soaking liquid, taking care to leave behind any grit on the bottom of the cup.

3. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes.  Allow the pressure to come down naturally.

4. While the soup is cooking, prepare the ginger juice: trim and grate the ginger. Once you have about a tablespoon, press to grate ginger, use a porcelain grater, available in Asian groceries, or the side of a box grater with rice-sized holes.

5.  Once the pressure is down, remove the lid and stir in the ginger juice, scallion greens, watercress, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oi to taste.  Garnish individual servings with black sesame seeds, if you wish.

Notes

The generous supply of meaty shiitake makes this soup substantial enough to serve as the main course. Opt for small shiitake-with dried caps no more than 1 inch across-if you can find them, as they rehydrate quickly. (About 10 of this size weigh ¾ ounce). If using larger ones, you may need to soak them longer; chop them into bite-sized morsels. You’ll find dried shiitake and star anise in Asian groceries and in some health-food stores.

It did my heart good to read a new review of Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure posted recently on Amazon.  The reviewer really captures so much of what I tried to accomplish in writing it, and she also points out rightly that the book is actually vegan!  You may not believe it, but when the book was published over 15 years ago, no one knew what the word “vegan” meant!

I’m glad the reviewer especially liked the Thai chickpea recipe.  It’s one of my favorites.  And I agree that the creamy texture of pressure-cooked chickpeas is really sublime.

Here’s the review:  I had never used a pressure cooker before buying this book so I was a little scared to try it out. Sass explained everything so clearly that I was able to use the pressure cooker with no problem even on the first attempt. Every recipe I have tried has been sooooo delicious. She definitely has a way with spices and flavor combinations. As other reviewers have said, the recipes just work, without the need to tweak. I’ve tried several, but my favorites so far are the Thai Chickpeas and the Paella. I am never using canned chickpeas again, the texture is so creamy from the pressure cooker. And there are soooo many recipes that I can’t wait to try. Sometimes when you open a new cookbook you only find 5 or so recipes that you would actually attempt – almost all of the recipes in this book are appealing to me.

Also, the recipes are actually vegan, not just vegetarian (except for a few that have the option of parmesan). I love that it doesn’t require a lot of vegan fake meats or cheese, but is real, whole foods. I can’t wait to get my hands on her other vegan cookbook!

Here is a festive recipe for the holidays that puts the dried fruit shriveling up in your pantry to good use.  Serve the compote on its own or as a topping for vanilla ice cream or coconut sorbet. 

Yum, and how easy can it get?

Place 4 cups water in cooker along with 12 dried figs (halved), 2 cups tightly packed mixed dried fruits (cranberries add nice color), and 2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger.  Cook under high pressure for 5 minutes.  Quick release the pressure.  When the compote has cooled slightly, stir in 1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts.  Serve warm or room temperature.

While developing the recipes for PRESSURE PERFECT, I experimented with a technique I came to call Triplex Cooking.  It’s a kind of layered cooking that enables you to make three different foods at once. You’ll need a 6-quart or larger cooker, and this this technique has all sorts of applications for making a whole meal at once–you’ll find some more ideas in the book.

Take, for example, the recipe for meatloaf with smashed potatoes and carrots below.  Meatloaf in a pressure cooker?  I was as surprised as you probably are, but it turns out to be a quick-and-easy success. “Amazing,” said the meatloaf maven who came to dinner. “It doesn’t look or taste steamed.”

But steamed it is, in the cooker’s vegetable basket–or use a bamboo or standard collapsible steaming basket instead.  Rather than setting the basket on a trivet, balance it on some chunked potatoes.  Then wrap carrots in an aluminum foil packet and set the packet on top of the meatloaf.  The foil packet retards the cooking, and the carrots steam in their own minimal moisture, ending up with intense flavor.  You can mash them with the potatoes are serve them separately in chunks.

After cooking, remove the foil packet and slice the carrots. Lift out the meatloaf and then tip out some of the liquid and smash the potatoes with some cheese.  The whole meal made in one pot in ten minutes under pressure: It’s as simple as that.

So, maybe you can’t afford a triplex co-op or a three story house, but if you own a 6-quart or larger pressure cooker, you can do triplex cooing.  Ha!

Meatloaf with Cheddar Smashed Potatoes

Serves 6

10 minutes high pressure

Cooking spray or oil for preparing steaming basket
2 large eggs
1 1/2 pounds meatloaf mixture or 8 ounces each ground beef, veal, and pork
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
3/4 cup rolled oats (old-fashioned or quick-cooking)
1/2 cup catsup or chili sauce plus 1 to 2 tablespoons additional to coat top of meatloaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley, for garnish

5 large carrots, peeled or scrubbed, and trimmed (leave them whole)

For the Cheddar-Smashed Potatoes
3 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed or peeled, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 1/2 cups loosely packed (about 4 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk, plus more to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Coat the bottom and sides of the steaming basket lightly with  cooking spray or oil.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl.  Add the ground meat, onions, parsley, oats, catsup, salt, garlic, and pepper. Mix with your
hands until blended. (The mixture may be fairly moist.)

Transfer to the steaming basket and press into a disc of uniform thickness.  (If your steaming basket has a central lifting pole, either  remove it or shape the loaf around it.) Spread a very thin coating of catsup on top.

Pour 2 cups of water into a 6-quart or larger cooker.  Place the potatoes in the water. Set the steaming basket with the meatloaf on top of the potatoes.  Wrap the carrots tightly in foil and set them on top of the meatloaf.

Lock the lid in place.  Over high heat bring to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  Quick-release the pressure. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape.

Use tongs to lift the foil-wrapped carrots.  Check the meatloaf for doneness: an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 155 degrees. If the meatloaf requires more cooking, nestle (but do not lock) the lid in place and steam over high heat for another few minutes.

Lift the meatloaf basket from the cooker, garnish with parsley, and let rest in the basket for at least 5 minutes before slicing.  Meanwhile, prepare the potatoes: Drain the potatoes and return them to the empty cooker.  Set over very low heat. Add the cheese and milk. Use a masher to coarsely smash the potatoes. For a moister mixture, stir in additional milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Unwrap and slice the carrots.

To serve, either unmold the meatloaf or slice it right in the basket. Serve the Cheddar-Smashed Potatoes and carrots alongside.

RECIPE COPYRIGHT LORNA SASS, 2011

Hi all of you fans of the pressure cooker!

Now that it’s holiday season, I imagine that your cooker is going to get lots of use.

Thanks to Sigrid Trombley, a big fan of the “pc,” I have some new scrubbing advice to share with you to keep that cooker shining like new.  I haven’t had a chance to try these out, so please let me know via the comments if you like them–or add your own scrubbing advice.

Oh, and when you store the clean cooker, never lock the lid in place.  This is not good for the gasket and keeps the aromas of your last meal alive.  Store the lid upside-down on top of the cooker or elsewhere.  Happy cooking and happy holidays!
Dawn Power Dissolver
12.8 oz trigger spray
Pre-treat for washing dishes, pots and pans
Eliminates the need to soak in water and requires no scrubbing
Uses foaming spray to lift and penetrate greasy soils on cookware

NOTES FROM SIGRID: Dawn Power Dissolver has 41 reviews on Amazon, 39 are 5 star and the two that are not have nothing to do with the product quality.

Note, Dawn Power Dissolver is not to be confused with the various versions of regular Dawn diswashing liquids that are readily available in most supermarkets. I read about Dawn Power Dissolver online and checked numerous stores in Wichita for it and could find it nowhere. Amazon purchasers have said the same thing. I have no idea why it’s so difficult to find. I also have and use Bar Keeper’s Friend, which is readily available, but Dawn Power Dissolver will remove “stuff” that BKF will not.

==========
The Chore Boy Longlast Scrubber is also a favorite product of mine and I had to get it online as well though you might find it locally. I particularly like this product because the sponge side of the scrubber is the kind of sponge that is really absorbent unlike plastic sponges which are not very absorbent.

Sigrid
Your Helper in the Kitchen

THANKS SIGRID!

Well, it’s officially winter in New York City.  After a few balmy days earlier this week, I donned my down coat and started dreaming about making winter soups and stews–in the pressure cooker, of course.

I am a big fan of large limas.  They are double the size of baby limas, have a creamier texture, and better flavor–almost like little potatoes.  I keep of bag of dried limas on hand as soon as the temperature drops below 50. 

Here you go!

Saute 1 sliced leek (including green leaves!) or a chopped onion in a tablespoon of oil.  Add 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth and 3 cups water, 1 lb. large dried limas, the thinly sliced stems of a bunch of kale (leaves will be added later),  and a small (3/4 lb), bone-in turkey thigh.  Cook at high pressure for 14 minutes, then let the pressure come down naturally.

Remove the turkey and stir in the chopped kale leaves, 2 to 3 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard, 1 tsp. dried sage if you like, and salt to taste.  Simmer uncovered until kale is tender, 5-8 minutes.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups frozen corn.  Shred turkey and add.  Adjust seasonings and serve.  It’s nice to garnish the stew with some roasted squash.

Every fall, the farmer’s market a few blocks from my home sells 4-pound bags of perfectly delicious, just slightly imperfect apples for $3.  What a steal. Who can resist, especially when applesauce is so easy to make in the p.c.

I’ve known since testing recipes for Cooking Under Pressure in 1989 that just by bringing quartered apples up to pressure, then letting the pressure come down naturally, I could have a lovely applesauce in about 15 minutes.  (With “pc” applesauce, you also save on prep time since the cooker tenderizes the apple skins–so there’s no need to peel them–plus the skins give the final product a rosy hue.)

Last year I discovered that by adding some crystallized ginger, I could take homemade applesauce from very good to sublime.

Here’s what you do:  Pour 1/2 cup water in the cooker.  Slice large chunks of apple around the core.  Discard the cores and toss the apples into the cooker.  For about 4 pounds of apples, add 3 to 4 tablespoons coarsely chopped crystallized ginger.

Bring up to high pressure, then immediately turn off the heat. (If using an electric stove, move the cooker to a cool burner.) Wait about ten minutes for the pressure to come down naturally, remove the lid, and give it a stir.  That’s all folks!

Eat warm with vanilla icecream or cool, then refrigerate for up to 10 days.  Have some with your morning oatmeal or even better, with steel-cut oats.  Enjoy!