I splurged on a pressure cooker about a year ago. I took it out of the box once. Then I got overwhelmed and nervous about blowing up my house and/or suffering third-degree burns and put it back in the box.
It's remained there ever since.
So I thought it would be a good investment of my time when I saw that Lisa Rose, the owner of VeganCheers of Erie, PA, was going to be conducting a pressure cooking demo at a local grocery store. She assured me right away that I wouldn't in fact, blow up my house. She told me with a little common sense, I would avoid burning myself too.
And guess what? I did it! With her encouragement, I pulled that pressure cooker out of its box and made spaghetti for the family -- meatless crumbles, a jar of spaghetti sauce, noodles and water. All made in one pot. That and a bagged salad meant a "homemade-enough" dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. Awesome.
Seven tips for cooking with your pressure cooker:
- Brown your veggies first. Unlike slow cookers, pressure cookers have a sauté option. Lisa advised to use it to add important flavor to your dish.
- Use a lot of water. Pressure cookers use steam to cook, which means you need to add a lot of liquid. For my pot of spaghetti, for example, I used about 2 cups of water. I was worried it would come out watery, but if anything, the dish was a little dry. Next time, I'll add even more.
- It's OK to convert recipes. If you have a favorite slow cooker recipe that takes 8 hours to cook, try it in your pressure cooker. Lisa said to start at 30 minutes of cook time, then check to see if it's done. You can always cook it longer if needed. Make sure to add at least a cup of water (or other liquid) more than you would in the slow cooker.
- Know your pressure cooker's limitations. A pressure cooker is not the equipment to use if you want food that is breaded, fried, or otherwise crisp.
- To avoid mush, cook the ingredient that needs the longest time first, then add the rest of the ingredients. For instance, if you're making a black bean and sweet potato stew, Lisa suggests cooking the beans 10 minutes then taking the lid off and adding the sweet potatoes.
- Be sensible. Lisa noted that you should never place the pressure cooker underneath cabinets. The steam can damage them. And when you open the pressure cooker, open the lid away from you so steam escapes in the opposite direction.
- There's no need to use high-quality cuts of meat. While Lisa, a vegan, didn't discuss cooking with meat, some online research turned up the fact that a pressure cooker can make the toughest meat tender. You can also use the sauté option on your pressure cooker to brown your meat, along with your vegetables.
