I was always a little scared of pressure cookers.
Not just because, in the early days, they would occasionally explode. And not because I don't understand the science behind how they work. I do understand the science. I just didn't trust it.
But I'd heard the stories, not only about how a pressure cooker can trim up to two-thirds of your cooking time but also how it makes meat more tender and infuses the food with flavors that otherwise escape the pot.
So I brought out the pressure cooker that I had received as a gift years ago but had never used. The first night I tried it I made coq au vin, the slow-braised French classic. By using the pressure cooker, I managed to cut perhaps an hour out of my cooking time.
Unfortunately, it also cut out all of the dish's complexity. The meal was flat and uninspired.
But I pressed on. And I was glad I did.
I'll start with the best dish first: Lamb Curry With Lentils. This recipe caught my eye because, for all the many uses for pressure cookers, two stand out as the best: Indian food (reportedly, you would be hard pressed to find a household in India that does not have a pressure cooker) and beans.
Lamb Curry with Lentils seemed like an obvious choice because it combined the two in one dish.
Make that one spectacular dish. Unlike the coq au vin, this one is marvelously complex, a bright miasma of flavors swirling across your tongue. Despite its many spices (cumin, cloves, cardamom, curry powder, ginger), its aromatics (onions, garlic) and its combination of liquids (coconut milk, beef stock, lemon juice), it is perfectly balanced. Nothing stands out, but nothing goes untasted.
It does contain 18 ingredients, which admittedly looks daunting. But they are easy to assemble; the only hard part is chopping an onion. And even with the prep work _ opening cans, measuring spices, squeezing a lemon _ you can make a delicious lamb stew in less than one hour.
Make that a spectacular lamb stew.
Very nearly as good are what are called Chinese Red-Cooked Chicken Thighs. I don't know whether this is an actual Chinese dish, but it certainly tastes like one. And my, is it wonderful.
Using a principle common in Chinese cooking, it features flavors that are a little sweet (from sugar, sherry and the juice of an orange), salty (soy sauce) and spicy (red pepper flakes, cloves). Fennel seeds add an appealing hint of licorice.
It's quick to make, and eating it is bliss. The best part comes even before you start to cook with pressure. First, you simmer sherry, soy sauce, orange juice, orange peel, cinnamon, ginger, fennel seeds and more. It may be the best your kitchen will ever smell. Served over rice, the completed dish tastes just as good as it smells. Maybe better.
Pasta e Fagioli is one of my favorite New Jersey meals (technically it is Italian, but really _ New Jersey). You just can't beat a bowl of simmered beans, pasta, tomatoes and a little spice.
Easy Pasta e Fagioli, made in a pressure cooker, considerably quickens the cooking time while sacrificing little of the flavor. It starts with canned beans (not quite as good as made from dried beans, but much faster), and adds onion, a bell pepper _ an intriguing choice _ and a few spices. Whole wheat pasta adds a depth and another layer of flavor that only improves the meal.
The best part is that, unlike the other recipes that require more steps, you just throw everything together in a pot and cook it. Once the pot gets to full pressure, it just takes 5 minutes.
Finally, I made 8-Minute Chili which, to be honest, takes somewhat longer than eight minutes to make. But all that additional time is in prep work: browning the beef, chopping the onion and mild pepper, measuring out the spices. Once you get the pot to full pressure, it does indeed require just eight minutes to cook.
That's amazing for chili, which usually depends on the many flavors slowly blending together to create a hearty bowl.
This version is thickened with either masa harina or all-purpose flour. Use the masa harina, if you have it. That extra kick of corn flour brings the whole dish together _ and it's all done in just eight minutes. Or, you know, a little longer.
