“Haul out that
vintage pressure cooker from the back of the kitchen cupboard, give it a good
dust and turn up the heat for some seriously good comfort-food cooking - the
kind that
delivers two-hour taste in 20 minutes flat”
“I have vivid childhood memories of that
very particular fizzing sound coming from the kitchen, often accompanied by a
somewhat unpleasant smell. Isn’t it odd that the aroma that a pressure cooker
gives off is frequently not the most palatable, yet what awaits beneath the lid
is a moreish treat whose rich succulence — one that’s redolent of slow cooking
at its best — belies the fact that it’s prepared in no time at all.
I started using a pressure cooker again
some five years ago, not, I’m reluctant to admit, because I suddenly saw the
light and realised my cooking needed one, but rather because I was asked to
endorse the machine and the kind people at AEG gave me a few to play with.
At La Colombe, we experimented with them
for all kind of applications: risotto ‘a la minute braises and, of course,
stocks. In those days, we made a great quail soup in which the beautifully intense
game-bird flavour came courtesy ola pressure cooker. And it was hardly
surprising to learn that, at the famous Fat Duck, most of the stocks are also
made using a pressure cooker.’No loss of flavour’ is the catchphrase of this
kind of cooking.
The recipes here are super Easy, so get
stuck in and take the pressure up a notch.”
Quick-braised chinese beef short ribs
Serves
41 Easy
Great Value
Preparation
20 minutes
Cooking
40 minutes
Ingredients
·
Beef short ribs 500 g, cut into 2 cm-thick
slices star anise 3
·
Cinnamon ½ stick
·
Apples 2, diced
·
Szechuan peppercorns ½ t
·
Cloves 8
·
Water 6 cups
·
Soya sauce ½ cup
·
Oyster sauce 6 t
·
Brown sugar 2 t
·
Sherry ¾ cup
·
Ginger 1 x 3 cm piece, sliced
For serving:
·
Steamed jasmine rice
·
Steamed bok choy
Directions
1.
Place all the ingredients in a pressure cooker
and cook at high pressure for 40 minutes. Remove the lid and reduce the cooking
liquor by two thirds.
2.
Serve the beef ribs in their liquor with steamed
jasmine rice and bok choy.
Dairy-free
Drinks
Wine: Oldenburg Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Duck “Au Vin” with chestnuts, onions and mushrooms
Serves 41 A Little Effort
Preparation
20
minutes
Cooking
45 minutes
Ingredients
·
Whole duck 1, cut into portions
·
Butter 3t
·
Baby onions 12, peeled
·
Fresh thyme 6 sprigs
·
Flat-leaf parsley 2 t
·
Flour 2t
·
Button mushrooms 16
·
Red wine 3 cups
·
Canned whole chestnuts 16, peeled
·
Garlic 1 bulb, halved
·
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
·
Mashed potato, for serving
Directions
1.
Cut the duck legs through the bone into 3 to 4
pieces. Cut the breasts in half, again through the bone.
2.
Brown the duck pieces in half the butter in a
5hallow frying pan until golden. Meanwhile, in a pressure cooker, brown the
onions and herbs in the remaining butter until golden. Add the flour and
mushrooms and continue browning until golden.
3.
Add the duck, wine, chestnuts and garlic to the
mushrooms and bring to the boil. Attach the pressure cooker’s lid and cook at
high pressure for 35 minutes. Remove the lid and boil until the sauce has
thickened. Adjust the seasoning and serve with mashed potato.
Drinks
Wine: Alto Rouge 2010
