Episode 118: Pressure Cooker

Classic Pot Roast
Poule au Pressure Pot
Cassoulet
Canned Cherries
Wild Crains Pilaf
East Indian Chick Pea Ragout
Lentil and Ham Hock Soup
Canned Salmon
Canned Venison

CLASSIC POT ROAST
Preparation is easy

2 tablespoons olive oil (30 millilitres)
2 ½ pounds rolled beef brisket or silverside (1.5 kilograms)
2 bay leaves
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 onions, peeled and quartered
3 leeks, trimmed and tied together
10 peppercorns
10 fluid ounces red wine

Preparation time is 45 minutes

Heat the olive oil in a pan and then brown the beef brisket on all sides. Then, put the brisket in the pressure cooker and add all the chopped vegetables, bay leaves and peppercorns. Cover with water and the red wine and set the pressure cooker.

Cook for 40 minutes. Release the pressure and remove the brisket and the vegetables. Set aside in a warm place. Reduce the remaining liquid by half to make a rich sauce for the beef.

Yield: 6 servings.
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POULE AU PRESSURE POT
Preparation is easy

1 large chicken
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs oregano
Salt and peppercorns
3 leeks, trimmed, rinsed and tied together
4 carrots, peeled and trimmed
2 onions, peeled and quartered
10 red pearl onions, peeled
10-baby red skinned potatoes
1 bouquet garni
1 whole head of garlic
2 bay leaves

Preparation time is 40 minutes

Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the thyme and oregano. Sprinkle in sea salt and black peppercorns. Place the chicken into the pressure cooker; add the aromatic vegetables, potatoes and the bay leaves. Cover with water and set the pressure cooker.

Cook for 40 minutes and release the pressure. Remove the chicken and the vegetables from the liquid and keep in a warm place. Put the pot on to a medium-high heat to boil and reduce the liquid. Once reduced by a third, serve the moist chicken in the broth from the pot with the vegetables.

Yield: 4 servings.
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CASSOULET
Preparation is medium

For the beans:
1 pound white beans (500 grams)
2 quarts white stock (2 litres)
8 ounces smoked ham, large dice (250 grams)
1 bouquet garni

8 lamb or other sausages
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound pork butt, cut in 2-inch cubes (500 grams)
Salt and pepper
2 carrots, diced
4 sticks celery, chopped
4 onions, diced
Olive oil
1-pint demi glace (450 millilitres)

Put the dried white beans, white stock, ham and bouquet garni in the pressure cooker. Cook for about 10 minutes from the moment that the pressure builds.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan heat the olive oil and brown the sausages and the pork butt. Remove and set aside. Cook the onions, garlic, carrots and celery until tender. Add the cooked vegetables, browned sausages and ham and the demi glace to the pressure cooker with the beans. Cook for a further 15 minutes under pressure.

Release the pressure and remove the bouquet garni. Serve in bowls with the liquid spooned around.

Yield: 8 servings
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CANNED CHERRIES
Preparation is medium

900 grams sugar (2 pounds)
2 litres water (2 quarts)
10 pounds cherries (5 kilograms)

Preparation time is 50 minutes

Remove the stems from all the cherries and throw away any cherries with blemishes or mould. Wash them in cold water and drain well. Using a sterile paring knife, prick both sides of the cherry; this will stop the fruit from splitting during processing.

Wash and sterilize the jars and keep the warm. Boil the lids and screw band for at least five minutes to sterilize and soften the compound.

Dissolve the sugar with the water and bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat and keep it just under a simmer.

Fill the cannier with water and bring to a boil. Pack the warm jars with cherries and pour hot syrup over the top and leave 1 centimetre headspace. Remove any air bubbles by gently tapping the bottom of the jars and add more syrup if appropriate.

Wipe the jar rims, centre the lids and apply the screw tops until finger tight. Process in the pressure cooker for 35 to 40 minutes (for both 500ml and 1 litre jars).

Carefully remove the jars from the pressure cooker and let cool. Once lids are down and sealed, wipe the jars clean and tighten the screw tops. Store somewhere cool, dry and dark.

Yield: 7, 1 litre jars
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WILD GRAINS PILAF
Preparation is easy

¼ cup olive oil (60 millilitres)
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3-cup wild rice (2 1/2 ounces)
1/3-cup barley (2 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups chicken stock (1 litre)
½ cup lentils (4 ounces)
½ cup bulgar wheat (4 ounces)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 lamb shanks
6 whole carrots

Preparation time is 30 minutes

Put some olive oil into a pan and brown the lamb shanks. Remove them from the pan.

Heat some oil in the pressure cooker on medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until the onion is soft, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the wild rice, barley, lentils and bulgar and coat with olive oil. Add the thyme, the lamb shanks and pour in the chicken stock. Put the lid on the pressure cooker and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn down the heat to a lower level, but hot enough to maintain pressure. After 15 minutes open the pressure cooker and add the whole carrots.

Cook for a further 15 minutes and then remove the pot to cool to allow the pressure to go down.

Green/brown or red lentils may be used interchangeably. Brown rice may be used instead of wild rice, or a combination of brown and wild rice may be used.

Yield: 6 servings
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EAST INDIAN CHICK PEA RAGOUT
Preparation is easy

2 inches of fresh ginger, skinned
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
8 coriander seeds, ground
2 tablespoons turmeric
2 cans tomatoes (56 ounces)
2 cups dried chickpeas (500 grams)
1-cup plain yoghurt (250 millilitres)
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Preparation time is 30 minutes

Chop the ginger into small pieces. Put the olive oil to heat in the bottom of the pressure cooker and add the ginger. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and the cumin, the ground coriander seeds and the turmeric. Stir until it is all coated with olive oil.

Add the canned tomatoes and dried chickpeas. Cover with the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for 20 minutes.

Open and stir in the yoghurt and chopped cilantro.

Yield: 6 servings
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LENTIL AND HAM HOCK SOUP

500 grams lentils (1 pound)
5 litres water (5 quarts)
2 large smoked ham hocks
1-tablespoon canola oil (15 millilitres)
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander seeds (5 millilitres)

Preparation time is 1 hour
Ease of preparation is easy

In a large pressure cooker, heat the canola oil. Add the diced onion and carrots and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and coriander seed and cook until fragrant.

Add water, lentils and hocks. Put the top on the pressure cooker and bring the pan to a boil for 50 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the pressure to reduce and check the contents. The lentils should be tender and the meat falling off the hock.

Remove the hock. While the hocks are cooling, puree the soup - but not too fine - keep it course. Peel the skin off the hocks and discard. Dice the meat and add it back to the soup.

Simmer the soup for 10 minutes and adjust the seasoning.

Yield: 16 servings
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CANNED SALMON
Preparation is easy

6 pounds salmon (2.7 kilograms)
Salt

Preparation time is 2 hours

Wash and sterilize the jars by putting them in a warm oven to heat for 10 minutes. Boil the lids in water for 5 minutes to soften the rubber seal. Clean and remove the skin and bones from the salmon. Cut it into pieces to fit into jars. For each 250 millilitres of volume add half a teaspoon of salt to the salmon. Do not add any liquid. Screw on the lids and place the jars in a pressure cooker.

Cook for 110 minutes. You must generate 11 pounds of pressure in the cooker for the salmon to be safe.

Yield: 12 half-pound jars
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CANNED VENISON
Preparation is easy

6 pounds venison (bone out) (2.7 kilograms)
Salt

Preparation time is 1 hour 10 minutes

Clean and sterilize the jars by putting them in a warm oven to heat for 10 minutes. Boil the lids in water for 5 minutes to soften the rubber seal.

Trim all fat and any bone from the venison. Cut into pieces that will fit into the jars. For every250 millilitres of meat add half a teaspoon of salt. Leaving a small amount of space at the top, seal the jars and cook under pressure for 90 minutes.

Yield: 12 half-pound jars
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Recipe Courtesy of Chef Michael Allemeier, Executive Chef at Teatro in Calgary, Alberta, Canada