Tag Archives: pressure cooker

Pressure Cooker Split Pea Stew

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kokblog_pressure_cooking

I feel more and more secure about using our pressure cooker even if I sometimes still think its going to explode. In this dish it may look like it actually happened, as it’s not a particularity attractive meal! However this hearty stew is perfect for lazy evenings when its freezing cold outside. It’s warm and delicious and shamelessly easy to make…

(for two people)

6-7 slices of bacon
1 medium onion
fresh or dried thyme
one small parsnip
one medium potatoe
a small piece of celery
1 cup (240 ml) dried split peas
2 ¾ cups (650 ml) of stock (preferable your own home made: veg., meat or chicken)
1-2 bay leaves
1 clove garlic
(salt and pepper)

Cut the bacon into thin slices and fry in a pan on medium heat until it starts to get a little crisp. Chop the onions and sauté in butter or with remaining bacon fat on very low heat until soft and almost transparent. At the end add some thyme (if using dried). Place onion, bacon, split peas (rinsed), chopped potato and parsnip in the pressure cooker. Add stock, bay leaves and press in some garlic. (If necessary season w/ salt and pepper). Stir everything and bring the mixture to a boil. Close the lid and bring pressure to high until the steamer begins to steam. Lower the heat and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Remove the cooker from heat and let cool. When the pressure has completely gone open the lid.

Serve the stew with a nice ale.

We use both yellow or green spit peas for this dish. However I have noticed that the yellow split peas gets mushier and at the same time drier. Therefore I cook them for only 13 minutes and use just a little bit more stock. You can also use other vegetables such as: turnip, carrot and celery. This recipe came originally from a soup recipe at cd kitchen.

Steamed Artichokes

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atrichokes

There are two machines in the kitchen that I never use, the espresso machine and the pressure cooker. I guess I am just too lazy to learn how to use them and so M makes me coffee every morning.

The pressure cooker isn’t really a machine but it’s noisy and I find it a little bit scary. M uses the cooker for rice and artichokes. When M makes rice he use brown basmati rice mixed with wild black rice. He cooks the rice together with salt, bay leaves and garlic. The cooker really keeps the flavor of the rice.

for two artichokes you need

one lime
one clove of garlic
3 bay leaves

Wash the artichokes and pull of the bottom brownest leaves. With a very sharp knife cut the tip off the artichokes (about 1/2 “) and trim the stem. Squeeze limejuice over the top of the artichokes. Fill the pressure cooker with a little water in which you put mashed garlic, bay leaves and the rest of the limejuice. Insert a steaming tray above the water and put the artichokes on the tray. Close the cooker and heat it up on medium high until the steamer begins to steam. Lower the heat and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the artichokes. Turn off heat and remove cooker from the heat. Serve the artichokes at room temperature with the vinaigrette on the side to dip the artichoke “leaves” in.

vinaigrette

3-4 parts olive oil
1 part apple cider vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
1-2 gloves of garlic
fresh oregano or thyme
1-2 mustard
just a drop of honey
salt and pepper

Mix the oil and the vinegar with some mustard, garlic and a drop of honey. Lastly add the spices to your own taste.

Now off to Madrid for some days of great culture, wines and food.