Pressure Cooking Over 120 comfort food Step-by-step Tips for converting your and classic international instructions on using favorite conventional recipes pressure cookers recipes Tom Hirschfeld No one likes a know-it-all. Most of us realize there’s no such thing— how could there be? The world is far too complicated for someone to understand everything there is to know. So when you come across a know-it-all, you smile to yourself as they ramble on because you know better. You understand that the quest for knowledge is a never-ending one, and you’re okay with that. You have no desire to know everything, just the next thing. You know what you don’t know, you’re confident enough to admit it, and you’re motivated to do something about it. At Idiot’s Guides, we, too, know what we don’t know, and we make it our business to find out. We find really smart people who are experts in their fields and then we roll up our sleeves and get to work, asking lots of questions and thinking long and hard about how best to pass along their knowledge to you in the easiest, most-accessible way possible. After all, that’s our promise—to make whatever you want to learn “As Easy as It Gets.” That means giving you a well-organized design that seamlessly and effortlessly guides you from page to page, topic to topic. It means controlling the pace you’re asked to absorb new information— not too much at once but just what you need to know right now. It means giving you a clear progression from easy to more difficult. It means giving you more instructional steps wherever necessary to really explain the details. And it means giving you fewer words and more illustrations wherever it’s better to show rather than tell. So here you are, at the start of something new. The next chapter in your quest. It can be an intimidating place to be, but you’ve been here before and so have we. Clear your mind and turn the page. By the end of this book, you won’t be a know-it-all, but your world will be a little less complicated than it was before. And we’ll be sure your journey is as easy as it gets. Mike Sanders Publisher, Idiot’s Guides Pressure Cooking by Tom Hirschfeld A member of Penguin Random House LLC Publisher: Mike Sanders Associate Publisher: Billy Fields Managing Editor: Lori Cates Hand Cover and Book Designer: Becky Batchelor Compositor: Ayanna Lacey Proofreader: Catherine Schwenk Indexer: Brad Herriman First American Edition, 2015 Published in the United States by DK Publishing 6081 E. 82nd Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46250 Copyright © 2015 Dorling Kindersley Limited A Penguin Random House Company 15 16 17 18 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 001-289069-April2016 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Published in the United States by Dorling Kindersley Limited. ISBN: 978-1-61564-888-7 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2015948633 Note: This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author(s). It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the author(s) and publisher are not engaged in rendering professional services in the book. If the reader requires personal assistance or advice, a competent professional should be consulted. 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Printed in the United States idiotsguides.com Contents pressure cooker basics ...9 How Pressure Cooking Works .........................10 What Your Pressure Cooker Can Do .................12 Types of Pressure Cookers ..............................14 Safety and Maintenance ................................16 Release Methods ..........................................18 Understanding PSI .........................................20 Pressure Cooking Vegetables ..........................22 Pressure Cooking Meat ..................................24 Converting Conventional Recipes .....................26 Stocking Your Kitchen ....................................28 Planning Weeknight Meals .............................30 pressure cooker recipes ............................33 basics .....................................................35 Rich Beef Stock ............................................36 Chicken Stock .............................................38 Vegetable Stock ...........................................39 Pressure Cooker Eggs ....................................41 Pressure Cooker Rice .....................................42 Easy Dried Beans .........................................43 Pressure Cooker Pasta Sauce ..........................44 breakfasts .............................................47 Eggs en Cocotte à la Crème ...........................48 Egg Cups ....................................................50 Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Oats ......................51 Savory Parmesan Steel-Cut Oats ......................53 Five-Grain Oatmeal .......................................54 Sausage, Onion, and Gruyère Breakfast Casserole ....................................................55 Honey, Raisin, and Quinoa Breakfast Risotto ......56 Bacon Jam...................................................59 4 Idiot’s Guides: Pressure Cooking appetizers .............................................61 Classic Deviled Eggs .....................................62 Garlicky White Bean and Parmesan Dip ...........64 Red Beet Hummus .........................................65 Middle Eastern Hummus .................................67 Lentil Pâté ....................................................68 Savory Smoked Salmon Cheesecake ................69 salads ....................................................71 Tuna Salad with Chickpeas ............................72 Chicken Salad Deluxe ...................................74 Classic Egg Salad ........................................75 Wheat Berry Salad with Arugula Pesto .............77 Farro Tabbouleh ...........................................78 Picnic-Style Potato Salad ................................80 Hot German Potato Salad ..............................81 soups, stews, and chilies ....................83 Roasted Corn and Butternut Squash Chili ...........84 White Bean and Shiitake Soup .......................86 Saturday Soup Beans ....................................87 Spicy Chickpea Stew with Sour Tomato Curry ....89 Cuban Black Bean Soup with Sherry ................90 Farmhouse Corn Chowder .............................91 French Potato and Leek Soup ..........................92 Indian Carrot and Lentil Soup ..........................94 Rustic Split-Pea Soup. .....................................95 Curried Butternut Squash Soup ........................97 Mushroom Barley Soup ..................................98 Root Vegetable Stew .....................................99 Borscht with Italian Sausage .........................100 Ribolleta ....................................................102 Texas-Style Chili Con Carne ..........................103 Korean Beef Stew .......................................105 Vegetable Beef Soup ...................................106 Irish Stew ..................................................107 Pork Ramen ...............................................108 Hearty Turkey and Vegetable Soup .................110 New England Fish Chowder .........................111 vegetables ..........................................113 Ratatouille .................................................114 Honey-Glazed Carrots .................................116 Glazed Carrots with Braised Lettuce ...............117 Contents 5 Southern-Style Green Beans ..........................119 Buttered Green Beans with Nut Crunch Topping ....................................120 Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes ...........121 Mashed Maple Sweet Potatoes .....................122 Brussels Sprouts with Almonds and Prosciutto ....124 Braised Kale ..............................................125 Alsatian-Style Braised Red Cabbage ..............127 One-Pot Cabbage, Rice, and Lentils ...............128 Southern Collard Greens ..............................129 meaty main dishes ............................131 Barbecue Braised Short Ribs .........................132 Beef Sugo .................................................134 Corned Beef ..............................................135 Cuban-Style Ropa Vieja ...............................136 Classic Beef Brisket .....................................138 Pot Roast with Fennel and Carrots ..................139 Swedish Meatballs ......................................140 Beef Bourguignon .......................................142 Chuck Roast with Horseradish Cream and Carrots .....................................................143 Swiss Steak ...............................................145 Osso Buco ................................................146 Belgian Beef Stew Cooked in Beer ................147 Pressure Cooker Tacos .................................148 Hungarian Stuffed Peppers ...........................150 Hungarian Chicken Paprika ..........................151 Caribbean Chicken Curry ............................153 One-Pot Chicken and Sausage Perloo ............154 Chicken and Dumplings ...............................155 Chicken Cacciatore ....................................156 Smothered Chicken .....................................158 Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic ..................159 Thai-Style Green Curry Chicken .....................160 Chinese Red Cooked Chicken ......................162 Hungarian Pork Goulash ..............................163 Belgian Ale–Braised Pork Loin with Mustard .....164 Pork Grillades ............................................166 Southern-Style Pulled Pork .............................167 Pork Vindaloo ............................................168 Pork Posole ................................................170 One-Pot Sausage, Potatoes, and Greens .........171 Asian Steamed Fish .....................................172 Salmon en Papillote.....................................174 Fish Curry ..................................................175 Thai Steamed Mussels .................................177 Beer-Steamed Shrimp ..................................178 Cajun-Style Shrimp Jambalaya .......................179 rice, grains, and breads ....................181 Basmati Rice Pilaf .......................................182 Dirty Oats with Lentils ..................................184 Wild Rice ..................................................185 Asparagus and Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto .........187 Risotto Milanese .........................................188 Jamaican-Style Rice and Peas ........................189 Steamed Brown Bread with Raisins ................190 Crustless Sandwich Bread ............................192 Cornbread ................................................193 desserts ...............................................195 Lemon Pots de Crème ..................................196 Chocolate Pots de Crème .............................198 Maple Cream Caramels ..............................199 Crème Brûlée .............................................201 Caribbean-Style Flan ...................................202 Classic Cheesecake ....................................203 Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake ...................205 Rice Pudding ..............................................206 Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce ...............207 Caramel Vanilla Tapioca Pudding ..................209 Christmas Pudding ......................................210 Dulce de Leche...........................................211 Gingerbread Cake with Vanilla Glaze ............212 Rum Raisin, Apple, and Prune Cake ...............214 Boozy Dried Fruit Compote ...........................215 Pears Poached in Red Wine .........................216 appendix .............................................218 index ....................................................220 Introduction During the 6 months it took me to write this book, I cooked almost exclusively with pressure cookers. Previously, I had used my pressure cooker on a fairly regular basis, but far from daily. Now that the book is just about finished, I wonder if I can go back to “traditional” cooking. At the same time I have to ask myself, Why would I? A pressure cooker can cook almost anything. It handles some ingredients better than others, but the array of foods that cook better under pressure is amazing. I’ll never again cook a pork loin in anything but a pressure cooker. Custards and cheesecake will be baked under pressure from here on out. Rice? Never again in a rice cooker, when the texture of pressure cooked grains is superior. And in the pressure cooker, old-fashioned southern cornbread develops a wonderful crumb and stays so moist. Pressure cookers also are efficient. They require less energy than traditional cooking methods, and they take about a third the time necessary for other methods. And despite the general fear of pressure cookers over the years, they’re actually quite safe. Thanks to advances in safety, technology, and precision manufacturing, modern pressure cookers are virtually foolproof. With multiple valves to release pressure and the knowledge that the rubber gasket is meant to release steam if pressure becomes too high, you can set aside your worries. Full of fresh, whole food ingredients, the recipes in this book are a compilation of classic American comfort foods and international classics, from beef brisket to Caribbean curried chicken to French crème brûlée. There’s lots to choose from—and to keep you from ever becoming bored with making dinner again. You can use either a traditional stovetop pressure cooker or a more modern electric pressure cooker, and instructions for both are given in each recipe. Cooking times, temperatures, and techniques can differ by type of cooker, so be sure to read and follow the recipe closely, understanding that times may vary. The user’s manual for your specific cooker is a good reference, so familiarize yourself with it if you haven’t already. And note that the cook time in all the recipes is the pressure cook time. Any other cooking called for is incorporated in the prep time. A pressure level is also called out so you can see at a glance what level you need to achieve. Acknowledgments I have to say thanks to all those who put up with my incessant talk about how amazing pressure cooking is, about my discoveries each day, and why they should buy a pressure cooker. But most importantly, I say thanks to my wife, Amy, and my daughters, Vivian and Lynnie, who were my taste-testers and had very strong opinions about which recipes were best and should be included in the book. To my father, thanks for watching the girls so I could work, and to my mother, thanks for being a good cook yourself. Lastly, thanks to all those in the food industry, chefs, line cooks, servers, and dishwashers, who do a thankless job day in and day out, so that when I don’t feel like cooking, I don’t have to. Special Thanks to the Technical Reviewer Idiot’s Guides: Pressure Cooking was reviewed by an expert who double-checked the accuracy of what’s presented here to help us ensure making mouthwatering meals in your pressure cooker is as easy as it gets. Special thanks are extended to Joseph Ewing, RD, LDN.