2 pressure cooker recipes take some pressure off dinner decisions

Published 12:02 am Tuesday, February 7, 2017

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.

Lamb Curry with Lentils

Makes 6 servings

1 TBS vegetable oil

2 lb boneless lamb shoulder, fat removed, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 C chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp minced ginger root

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 C diced tomatoes

1/4 C dried red lentils

1 C unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 C beef stock

1 TBS lemon juice

1/4 C chopped cilantro or parsley

4 C hot cooked basmati rice

In a pressure cooker, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add lamb in batches and cook until browned. Transfer to a bowl. set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, salt, Add tomatoes; cook for 1 minute. Stir in lentils, coconut milk, beef stock, lemon juice and lamb with any accumulated juices.

Lock lid into place and bring cooker up to full pressure over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low (if using an electric stove, move pot to a different element set to medium low), just to maintain even pressure, and cook 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and turn off electric cooker or run stove-top cooker under cold water to quickly release pressure. Stir in cilantro.

Serve over rice.

Per serving: 446 calories; 20 g fat; 12 g saturated fat; 65 mg cholesterol; 25 g protein; 40 g carbohydrate; 3 g sugar; 4 g fiber; 693 mg sodium; 50 mg calcium

Chinese Red-Cooked Chicken Thighs

Makes 4 servings

1/4 C sherry

1/4 C soy sauce

Rind of 1 orange, cut into strips

Juice of 1 orange

3 TBS granulated sugar

1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices

2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks

1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp ground cloves

8 skinless chicken thighs

1/2 C water

Combine the sherry, soy sauce, orange rind, orange juice, sugar, ginger, cinnamon sticks, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes and cloves in the pressure cooker and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Add the chicken thighs and water, stirring to mix.

Lock the lid in place. Bring to full pressure (15 pounds per square inch) over high heat; immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting to stabilize and maintain that pressure (if using an electric stove, move pot to another element set on medium-low). Cook for 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the pot to depressurize itself; this may take 15 minutes or more. Discard the cinnamon sticks and orange rind. Serve over rice.

— Adapted from “Miss Vickie’s Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes,” by Vickie Smith