Pressure Cooked Pork Roast

For those of you considering a pressure cooker purchase, get one it's worth it. For those of you who already have one stashed away somewhere, dig it out and start using it again. Lastly, for those of you who regularly use it, keep up the good work and share your recipes! 

Once you understand how it works and feel comfortable using a pressure cooker you will be amazed at how quickly you can get a great meal on the table.

Ok, now for the night before last's dinner.

Recipe: 

1 1/2 lb pork roast

Herbs de Provence (a herb mix used in France made up of marjoram, thyme, savory, basil, rosemary, sage, fennel seeds and lavender)

Sea salt

Fresh milled black pepper

Oil (I used Palm)

Fill the pressure cooker with 1 to 2 inches of water, put in the rack and steamer basket, then bring the water to a boil.

Place the roast (fat side up) in a heat-proof dish that will fit into your steamer basket.

Place the lid on and make sure the release valve is closed. Bring up to full pressure then cook for 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and open the vent to release the steam. Remove the roast.

Coat the top of the roast with Herb de Provence, sea salt and pepper.

Heat up oil in a heavy bottomed pan and brown the fat side coated with herbs until crispy.

Once the top is browned to your satisfaction you are done.

Mediterranean Chicken (in the pressure cooker of course!)

I prepared Mediterranean Chicken for our Nutrition Connect meeting this month. I am trying to win others over to pressure-cooking, it is safe, easy and so fast. I am amazed at the great meals that you can put together in very little time.

Ingredients:

• A 3-4 pound chicken
• 1-2 TBSP. Coconut Oil (or cooking oil of choice)
• 2 1/2 cups frozen, bell pepper/onion mix (you can use fresh as well)
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes (you can use fresh, you will need 8)
• garlic powder
• dried basil 
• dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• sea salt

I did not put down measured amounts of the spices because you can adjust to personal taste, start with 1 tsp of everything and you can add more or less as desired. 

 I cut the chicken up, it is easiest to put the cutting board in the sink and cut it up there. After you are finished, you can wash your cutting board and sink, rinse then sanitize both. (Sanitizer recipe - 1 cup water, 2 drops of plain un-scented bleach, spray or slosh over the entire surface of the sink, don't forget the back splash, water handles and sprayer attachment, leave on for two minutes).

Season the cut up chicken with the garlic powder, basil, oregano and sea salt.

Heat 1 TBSP. of coconut oil in pressure cooker pot and melt over med-high heat.

 Saute bell pepper/onion mixture until onions are translucent and water is mostly reduced (do not completely dry it out). Remove peppers from pot and set aside.

 Add one more TBSP. of coconut oil to pot if needed. Brown seasoned chicken pieces.

Once chicken is browned, add peppers/onion mix, tomatoes and bay leaf.                                                                                                                                                        

 Place lid on cooker and build pressure over high heat. Once pressure has built start timer for 8 minutes and turn heat down to medium (this will vary according to type and model of cooker).  When timer goes off, remove pot from heat and vent. When venting is complete the lock will disengage and you can remove the lid (be careful of steam, the contents are very hot). Remove bay leaf. You can serve as-is or over "Riced" Cauliflower.

Enjoy!

Butter Chicken in 15 Minutes!

Here is another great Pressure Cooker Recipe. Delicious and quick.

Ingredients:

A 2 1/3 - 3 pound whole chicken (you can use parts if you prefer, just reduce cooking time down to 8 minutes).
2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
4 Tbsp real butter (do not use margarine)
1 1/2 cups of water
sea salt and fresh milled pepper

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in the pressure cooker pot and saute the onions until very lightly browned. Brown the chicken in the butter and onions on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pot and place in the steamer basket. Add the water to the pot and bring to a boil scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Place the steamer basket into the pot (do not use the trivet if you have one to rest the steamer basket on, you want the basket in the water). Place the cover on the pot, once you have built steam start your timer for 15 minutes. When the time is up remove the pot from the heat and let the pressure fall on its own. Remove the basket from the pot and look at the sauce, if it is too thin boil it to evaporate the extra water, then pour over your chicken. Total time, maybe 30 minutes (15 prepping, 15 cooking). Too easy.

New Year Dinner

I purchased a pressure cooker to go with my new stove. It is one of the most wonderful contraptions. You can make food that tastes like it took all day to cook, without taking all day to cook.

Menu : Oxtails, Whipped Cauliflower and Green Beans with Almonds. 

Oxtail Recipe

4 1/2 pounds of Oxtails
2 Tbsp oil (I used virgin coconut)
1 large onion, sliced
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 tsp herbs provincial
1 tsp flour (I used organic, sprouted spelt)
1 bottle of beer (I used a bottle of Guiness Stout)
1 cup of water

Brown the Oxtails in small batches, remove from the pressure cooker pot and set aside.

Brown the onions in the pot, add more oil if necessary.

Add the remaining ingredients, scrapping the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.

Add the meat, put on the pressure cooker lid and build the steam. Cook for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the pressure drop on its on. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While the meat is cooking, prepare the cauliflower. Place a whole head cauliflower that has been cut into florets into a dish and add 1/2 cup of water (you can use frozen and skip adding the water). Place in the microwave and cook on high for 10-12 minutes.

Add cooked cauliflower, 3 Tbsp of butter, salt and pepper to a food processor and blend until smooth.

While the cauliflower is in the microwave, cook the green beans on the stove. I put 3 cups of frozen, thin green beans, added a little water to the pot, 2 Tbsp of butter, sea salt and a couple of Tbsp of crushed almonds (place whole almonds into a zip lock bag and smash with a mallet).

Viola! A meal in 30 minutes instead of 3-4 hours. I love my new pressure cooker.

The recipe for the oxtails came from '80 recipes for your....Pressure Cooker' by Richard Ehrlich. I modified it just a little bit.