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Now that I got the hang of it, it is more wonderful than a crock pot...yes, you heard me right. MORE WONDERFUL THAN A CROCK POT. Why? Because it cooks a meal in like 10-20 minutes that would take hours normally take 2-3 hours, at least. It's true magic.
Another reason why I love my pressure cooker is because you can just throw random ingredients into any recipe and it still tastes like the best meal in the world. Love, love, love.
A lot of people don't know anything at all about pressure cookers. I didn't either. But I promise you, it will change your life for the better. If you have questions about them feel free to ask!
Oh, and make note- when I make the recipe I will review it at the bottom of the post. I will be honest so that you'll know if you want to make it or not. I promise.
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Now on with the show! Under Pressure #1:
Lentil Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed and picked
2 bay leaves
5 ounces fresh spinach (optional) *I put it in...really great!
salt and pepper
Directions
1. In your pressure cooker, sweat the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the carrots and celery and saute for a minute or two.
3. Add the ground cumin and stir well.
4. Add the vegetable broth, lentils, and bay leaves, close the pressure cooker, and bring up to pressure.
5. Cook for 20 minutes.
6. Open the pressure cooker via the quick release method (see your cooker's owner's manual!) or let the pressure come down on its own.
7. Remove the bay leaves.
8. If desired, stir in the spinach, and stir until it wilts. (Additional heat is not necessary.).
9. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
*Review: Exceeded my expectations! Extremely flavorful. Hearty. I really liked this recipe and would recommend it to anyone.
Now on with the show! Under Pressure #1:
Lentil Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed and picked
2 bay leaves
5 ounces fresh spinach (optional) *I put it in...really great!
salt and pepper
Directions
1. In your pressure cooker, sweat the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the carrots and celery and saute for a minute or two.
3. Add the ground cumin and stir well.
4. Add the vegetable broth, lentils, and bay leaves, close the pressure cooker, and bring up to pressure.
5. Cook for 20 minutes.
6. Open the pressure cooker via the quick release method (see your cooker's owner's manual!) or let the pressure come down on its own.
7. Remove the bay leaves.
8. If desired, stir in the spinach, and stir until it wilts. (Additional heat is not necessary.).
9. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
*Review: Exceeded my expectations! Extremely flavorful. Hearty. I really liked this recipe and would recommend it to anyone.
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7 comments:
Mmmmmm! Looks fantastic! This is exciting!
Yum! I love lentils! Thanks for sharing.
p.s. My mom would use her pressure cooker all the time growing up. We never used a crock pot but used the pressure cooker to make stews and soups and it's works great to boil potatoes super fast to make mashed potatoes...have you tried it? SO FAST!
I loved hearing the little top shake when the steam would come out...
aha! i guess i won't have to bug you for this.
I've never used a pressure cooker. How does it work so fast? (Don't say pressure - that's obvious.) Is it easy to figure out how to use it?
So usually the manual will give detailed instructions for each recipe, but this is generally how you use it:
Put the ingredients in. Sometimes you'll have to saute the onions or whatever in the bottom of the pan first. Add the correct amount of liquid (water, broth, whatever). The pot shouldn't be more that 3/4 full...ever.
The lid of the pot seals and locks when you put it on. There is a knob thing on the top of the lid. it will rock and make noise due to the pressure...this is good. Once you hear and see that rocking, that's when you start timing according to the length your recipe calls for.
When the time us up, there are two things you can do, depending on your recipe.
1. take the pot off the heat and let the pressure come down on it's own accord. There is a little sticky-up thing that tells you when the pressure is down.
2. you can run cold water over the top of the pot/lid and the pressure will go down very quick. You open the lid and voila! It's done!
I think basically it cooks so fast because absolutely no steam at all is getting out, thus building pressure and cooking rapidly at high heat.
Hope this helps!
heather, I love your blog! love the photos, your thoughts, your ideas--I am such a FAN of you! Guess what? I tried your lentil soup last night and it was delicious and so easy! I always have LOVED the pressure cooker too. thanks for a new recipe and for always being such a great support to my daughter heather, and come to think of it, my other daughter kindsay too. xoxo robin
I love lentils and I love pressure cookers. Honestly a few weeks ago I couldn't think of any meals for my grocery list so I stocked your blog and made a few of your recipes on here. They ALL turned out perfectly delicious. Thanks for giving me great meal ideas. Keep up the good work
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