Instant Pot Barbecue "Baked" Beans

Oh, how I love barbecue. And how I love a smoky, spicy-sweet side of beans to go with it.

Just in time for the 4th of July, here's my new favorite recipe for barbecue "baked" beans--"baked" because they aren't really, since I made them in the Instant Pot.

There are lots of recipes for "barbecue beans" or "baked beans"--not really sure what the difference is I put both in the name of this dish.

I've made this dish twice, and while it was good both times, the adjustments I made for the second time were a definite improvement. I didn't have any molasses on hand the first time, so I used 1/4 cup of maple syrup (the real kind). This worked fine, but I missed that deep sweetness the molasses adds. I also used Stubbs's Sweet Honey & Spice flavor barbecue sauce the first time, which I didn't like nearly as much as the Stubb's Hickory Bourbon I used for the second batch (for the record, my favorite variety of Stubb's barbecue sauce is Sweet Heat--so amazing).

In looking at ingredient lists of other recipes to develop this dish, the one I leaned on the most was "The Best Barbecue Beans Recipe" by Joshua Bousel for Serious Eats. The accompanying photos were exactly what I wanted my beans to look like, and I liked the combination of sweet ingredients (honey, brown sugar and molasses). I made quite a few changes, but it's worth checking out.

That Serious Eats recipe goes the more traditional route of soaking the beans first and baking them in the oven, so expect an overnight soak and about 6-7 hours of cooking time. By comparison, my recipe takes a little over 2 hours--not exactly "instant" but with no soaking or oven time, it's great for whipping up "baked" beans the day before (or even day-of) you want to enjoy them without heating up your kitchen on a hot day or having to remember to soak those beans.

Instant Pot Barbecue "Baked" Beans

Ingredients for cooking the beans:
1 lb. dried pinto beans (may use other similarly sized dried beans), rinsed and examined to remove any small stones
10 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt

Ingredients for cooking the dish:
1/2 lb. bacon, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide strips
1 1/2 cup diced (about 1 large) yellow or sweet onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cup barbecue sauce (I recommend Stubb's Hickory Bourbon)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. mustard (any will do, I used a grainy Dijon)
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup brown sugar (I used light, but would've used dark if I had it)
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups low sodium chicken broth

Cook the beans:

1. Combine dried beans, water and salt in an Instant Pot. Lock the lid and set to cook under high pressure for 25 minutes. When cooking time is up, allow pressure to release naturally, which takes about 10-12 minutes. Total time for this step is 50-60 minutes.

2. When pressure is fully released, unlock the lid, drain the beans and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.

Cook the dish:

1. Using the Instant Pot sauté mode, cook the bacon until browned and crisp. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon. Remove excess bacon fat, leaving about 2 tbsp. in the pot (I used a couple paper towels to soak it up).

2. Add the onion and garlic to the pot. Sauté until softened and lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes. Turn off the Instant Pot.

3. Into the pot with the cooked vegetables, add the cooked bacon, cooked beans, barbecue sauce, ketchup, mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, honey, molasses and chicken broth (in other words, all of the remaining ingredients). Stir to combine. Lock the lid and set to cook under high pressure for 15 minutes. When cooking time is up, allow pressure to release naturally, about 10-15 minutes (vent any remaining pressure after 15 minutes). Total time for this step is 40-45 minutes.

4. Unlock the lid and stir the mixture. If a thicker texture is desired, use Sauté mode (normal setting) to evaporate some of the moisture and thicken the beans--about 10 minutes is just right for me. Allow to cool and either eat or transfer to a container with a lid to store in the fridge.

Pressure Cooker Pasta Inverno

If, like me, you're a fan of different types of pasta dishes, you've probably come across Pasta Primavera, a dish of lightly cooked spring vegetables ("primavera" means "spring" in Italian) with pasta and fresh herbs. It's a wonderful dish to serve as the first spring produce arrives, things like snap peas, bell peppers and scallions are perfect in it.

I was thinking lately that winter vegetables should also have their own pasta dish, so I decided to come up with a version of "Pasta Inverno" (hopefully you've caught on that "inverno" is Italian for "winter").

There's a key difference in cooking winter vegetables from spring ones: the winter ones generally take longer to cook. While spring vegetables are done with a quick blanche or sauté, hearty winter vegetables like butternut squash and cauliflower need a good roast or braise. One of the delights of Pasta Primavera is that comes together quickly. How could I make a similar wintertime dish that wouldn't take all day to make?

Enter the pressure cooker: a wonderful time-saving device that drastically reduces the cooking time for ingredients that would otherwise require hours to tenderize. About a year ago, I did a series of pressure cooker recipes (links for which appear at the end of this article) and it really does reduce cooking times for all sorts of recipes from meats to grains to vegetables.

In this recipe, I used the pressure cooker to shorten the braising time for a winter vegetable pasta sauce composed of cauliflower, butternut squash, kale and canned tomatoes. While it still takes time to prep and sauté the vegetables, the pressure cooking does make this into a dish that can be done in about an hour (the time it takes to bring the cooker up to pressure may vary depending on its size; my 8 quart model seems to take longer than I would often like, but does give me the flexibility to cook a large quantity).

The pressure cooker made nice work of this sauce. I let the vegetables sauté in the olive oil for about 15 minutes. That may sound like a long time, but it's a pretty large quantity of vegetables. Make sure you use a pressure cooker large enough to handle the volume or, if needed, pare down the quantity of vegetables in the recipe. Once the cooker came up to pressure, I cooked the vegetables under pressure for about 10 minutes before using the quick-release method remove pressure. The sauce was very hot, and it continued to cook the pasta a bit after I stirred in the noodles. Because of that, I recommend cooking the pasta a little shy of al dente so that the noodles won't be too soft when served (I like my pasta chewy).

Pressure Cooker Pasta Inverno

1 lb. dried tube pasta (penne or ziti)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 lb. butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 head of cauliflower, cored and cut into small florets
6-7 kale leaves, stems removed/discarded and leaves chopped
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
6 oz. can tomato paste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup water
1 tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Dash of ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, at table

1. Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions for al dente or just a little shy of al dente. Drain and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in the pressure cooker pot set over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, squash and cauliflower, and saute until softened, about 13-15 minutes. Add kale, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, oregano, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Lock lid and increase heat to medium-high to bring contents up to high pressure (note: adjust cooking temperatures as needed for your cooker and stove, these directions are for my Fagor Duo 8 qt. pressure cooker used on an electric range). Once pressurized, reduce heat as appropriate to maintain pressure (medium-low for me) and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes.

3. Remove cooker from stove and set in the sink. Release pressure with quick release method. Remove the lid and add the cooked pasta. Stir to combine.

4. Serve pasta in shallow bowls with grated parmesan at the table.

Related

Pasta Primavera

Pasta Primavera with Asparagus Pesto

Equipment: Pressure Cooker

Cooking with a Pressure Cooker

Pressure Cooker Barbecue Spareribs

Pressure Cooker Chicken Paprikash

Pressure Cooker Mole Chicken Chili

Pressure-Cooked Quinoa Salad with Cauliflower

Pressure Cooker Spring Risotto

Pressure Cooker Chicken Paprikash

Now that I've covered the basics of pressure cooking and shared a number of recipes, it's time to try something original. My pressure cooker (and I suspect most others) include a chart of recommended cooking times for most ingredients. Using that information, plus guidance on a minimum amount of liquid needed, can allow you invent your own recipes for making something delicious in the pressure cooker.

You can use the pressure cooker like any other pot on the stove to first brown meats and vegetables as shown above. Below, the paprikash just after it's finished pressure cooking.

I've always wanted to try chicken paprikash, a traditional Hungarian stew of chicken, vegetables and paprika, which seems perfect for a pressure cooker. I came up with this recipe after consulting a number of recipes I found online. Here, I've dredged the chicken in flour before browning it, which also helps thicken the sauce.

I kept the spice mix pretty simple to just focus on paprika. A word on that: there are lots of varieties of paprika available now. For this dish, I recommend a traditional sweet Hungarian paprika. I definitely wouldn't use a hot paprika and, as much as I like it, smoked paprika doesn't seem right for this dish either.

I served my paprikash over roasted spaghetti squash. Egg noodles or mashed potatoes would be good as well.

Pressure Cooker Chicken Paprikash

2 tbsp. olive oil
2 lb. boneless-skinless chicken thighs
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, cored, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. Hungarian sweet paprika
3/4 cup dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
2 tbsp. tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley

1.  Add olive oil to the pressure cooker and heat over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Put the flour in a shallow bowl and dredge the chicken thighs in the flour. Brown the chicken in the hot oil in batches (probably 3 or 4), cooking about 2 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate.

2. Add onion, red pepper and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft and starting to brown. Add the paprika and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add the wine and tomato paste and season with salt and pepper.

3. Return the chicken to the pot. Lock the lid into place and continue cooking over medium-high heat until high pressure is achieved. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes at high pressure, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain high pressure.

4. Depressurize the pressure cooker by place it in the sink and running cold water over the lid. Once pressure is released, carefully remove the lid so that any remaining steam is released away from you. Stir in the yogurt. Serve the paprikash in shallow bowls topped with fresh chopped parsley.

Pressure Cooker Barbecue Spareribs

One of the greatest uses of the pressure cooker is to quickly tenderize cuts of meat. Spareribs can roast in the oven for hours. In a pressure cooker, they're nice and tender in less than a half hour.

To make this recipe as simple as possible, I used a store-bought barbecue sauce for this recipe. I selected a good one: Stubb's Hickory Bourbon.

As I mentioned on Monday, I did have an instance of my pressure cooker not coming up to pressure as expected, possibly either because a valve was clogged or the lid wasn't on right. It happened when I made this dish. Because of that, it boiled for a long time before I fixed the problem and got it cooking under high pressure. So when I made this, I only cooked it under pressure for 15 minutes. But I think 20 minutes is probably more reasonable if you're doing this right.

That's the amount of time in the source recipe for pork loin ribs (better known in the U.S. as "baby back ribs") from the Pressure Cooker Cookbook that I used to inform this dish. I changed the dish in a few ways by substituting spareribs, browning the meat first and changing the sauce a little.

I served these ribs with truffled mac & cheese and simply prepared collard greens.

Pressure Cooker Barbecue Spareribs
Based on Pork Loin Ribs with Barbecue Sauce from The Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Laura Washburn

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 lb. pork spareribs, cut into sections with 2 to 4 ribs
1 cup barbecue sauce, plus additional for basting and serving (I used Stubb's Hickory Bourbon)
1 cup water
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. seasoned salt (or to taste)
3-4 scallions, greens sliced on a diagonal

1. Heat vegetable oil in the pressure cooker pot over medium-high heat. Brown spareribs in batches, about 2 minutes per side. Set ribs aside as they are browned.

2. Add the barbecue sauce, water, honey and seasoned salt to the pot. Place the ribs in the pot, turning to coat with the sauce. Lock the lid into place and cook over medium-high heat until high pressure is reached. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook at high pressure for 20 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain pressure. Use a quick-release method (using a release valve or the cold-water method) to quickly depressurize the pressure cooker. Carefully remove the lid to vent any remaining steam away from you.

3. Preheat oven broiler with oven rack about 7 inches from the broiler. Remove the ribs from the pressure cooker and transfer to a baking sheet with the meatier side facing up (you might want to line it with aluminum foil). Brush the rib racks with additional barbecue sauce. Broil for about 3-5 minutes to brown the tops (watch to prevent burning). Serve topped with a few scallion slices and with some additional sauce on the side.

Pressure Cooker Mole Chicken Chili

Soups and stews are among the easiest recipes to make in a pressure cooker. Start by sautéing the vegetables and perhaps browning the meats, add liquid and seasonings and bring to pressure. Pretty simple.

This Mole Chicken Chili recipe from America's Test Kitchen's cookbook Pressure Cooker Perfection appealed to me for several reasons: 1) I love chili (I shared a week's worth of chili recipes last October), 2) I've always wanted to make a mole recipe and 3) I get to use my pressure cooker to make  a good dinner in just over an hour.

This might not be a traditional mole, but the flavor is definitely there. The Test Kitchen's goal was to approximate the flavor of mole with pantry staples substituting for the lengthy list of ingredients in a traditional mole. That, combined with the simplicity of preparation, makes for a great recipe for pressure cooker novices.

This recipe calls for canned chipotles in adobo sauce. One can will contain a lot more chiles than you need for this recipe (they are very spicy). I like to divide the rest up until small ziplock bags and freeze them for use in other recipes.

A word of caution about this recipe: the sauce is very thick, so if you cook this at too hot a temperature while under pressure, it can stick and burn to the bottom of the pan (speaking from experience here). That's not to say it's not worth making--even if you have some burn-on mess to deal with. Just wanted to warn you.

Mole Chicken Chili
Adapted from a recipe in Pressure Cooker Perfection by America's Test Kitchen

3 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (about 1 chile)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
4 lb. boneless-skinless chicken thighs (the recipe calls for bone-in thighs without skin, but that can be hard to find and the boneless ones are easier to deal with)
1 onion, halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, stemmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

1. Heat 2 tbsp. of oil in the pressure cooker pot over medium heat. Add chili powder, cocoa, garlic, chipotle, cinnamon and cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, raisins and peanut butter and stir to combine with a wooden spoon, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. Puree mixture with an immersion blender until smooth, about 30 seconds (or alternatively transfer mixture to a blender and puree then return to the pot).

2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining tbsp. of oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Once the sauce has simmered, add the onion to the pot.

3. Add the chicken to the pot with the pureed sauce and onions. Lock the lid into place and bring to high pressure over medium-high heat. When the pot reaches high pressure, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 25 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain high pressure.

4. Remove pot from heat and release pressure quickly using the quick-release valve (I wouldn't recommend the cold-water release for this recipe, since you need to continue cooking after releasing pressure). Once pressure is released, carefully remove the lid directing any remaining steam away from you. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board or bowl and shred meat. Meanwhile, bring the sauce in the pot to a simmer over medium heat. Add the red pepper and cook until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot and stir to combine. Serve in bowls topped with fresh cilantro.

Under Pressure

One of my New Year's resolutions is to use my pressure cooker more. I got it last spring and was so excited about all its potential. I made a wonderful spring risotto and then...nothing else. This year I will do better.

This week is pressure cooker week. Kicking it off today is an equipment post on what you should know about pressure cookers with a focus on my model, the Fagor Duo 10-Quart. There's also a recipe for Pressure-Cooked Quinoa Salad with Cauliflower. Later in the week I'll follow with recipes for Chicken Mole Chili, Barbecue Spareribs and Chicken Paprikash.

Many of those sounds like recipes that could take all afternoon to produce, but with a pressure cooker, most of them are manageable even on a weeknight.

Some good resources for pressure cooking:

• Pressure Cooker Perfection. Published last year by America's Test Kitchen, this collects many of their pressure cooker recipes with additional good content about pressure cookers and how they work.
• The Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Laura Washburn. Another good cookbook of recipes tailored to pressure cookers.
• Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold. Not a pressure cooker cookbook per se, but this adventurous cooking text includes quite a few recipes for which a pressure cooker is essential.
• Miss Vickie's Pressure Cooker Recipes. A great web-based source of recipes and other pressure cooker information.
• ePressure Cooker.com. I have a stovetop pressure cooker, so the recipes I'm featuring this week are based on that. However, if you're interested in the electric alternative, here's a site with a lot of great information and recipes.

Equipment: Pressure Cooker

As a child, I loved kitchen equipment. My mother kept many of the small gadgets without sharp edges in a low drawer so I could play with them. An old crank-style egg beater held particular fascination; I also loved the pastry wheel with its zig-zag fluted edge.

But there was one item in the kitchen that was less the source of fascination and more that of terror: the pressure cooker. Ours was like a large-ish aluminum saucepan with a tightly fitted lid that had a little pressure indicator on the side of the lid and a valve on top that a "jiggler" fitted over. When it was cooking, the thing made a lot of noise and that jiggler danced like crazy. Nothing bad ever happened (thankfully), but compared to the other typical methods of cooking via roasting, sautéing or boiling, it seemed to me a strange way to cook.

These days, pressure cookers are different. Advancements in their design have made them easier to use, quieter (no more noisy jiggler) and, most importantly, safer. Multiple safety features are built into today's cookers to release pressure safely in the event of excess pressure build up. Because today's models vent less steam while cooking, they require less liquid for recipes and cook even faster.

Equipment features and safety

Let's take a closer look at my model, the Fagor Duo 10 quart stainless steel pressure cooker. I got this model last year, with an eye to get the 8-quart size. At the time, Amazon was sold out of 8-quarts, so I opted for the 10-quart over the 6-quart, since a larger pressure cooker will provide more versatility: you can cook a small amount in a large cooker, but you can't cook a large amount in a small one. (An additional benefit of the 10-quart model is that you can use it for canning, although I have yet to try this.)

This model comes highly recommended. America's Test Kitchen rated it a highly recommended "best buy," second only to a Fissler Vitaquick model that costs $170 more.  No surprise then that the Fagor Duo is the model pictured throughout America's Test Kitchen's Pressure Cooker Perfection cookbook.

The controls are located on the lid. The dial at the top is the operating valve, which can be set to low (8 psi) or high (15 psi) pressure. It also has a steam release position (more on that in a bit) and a position to unlock and remove the valve for cleaning. The little round yellow circle is the pressure indicator. When the pot is under pressure, this pops up. When it's up, you can't open the pressure cooker. When it's down, there's no pressure in the cooker, and it can be opened. The large yellow switch is the pressure lock, which must be in the lock position for pressure to build up. The marking to the left of the handle helps align the lid when putting it on the pot.

As shown here in the top photo, the lid and pot rim are designed to interlock for a tight fit, with a silicone gasket under the lid to create an air-tight seal. As shown in the bottom photo, the gasket is removable. Be sure to get it really clean. Over time, especially if you use your pressure cooker a lot, the gasket can wear out and should be replaced.

Two other items of interest under the lid: the safety valve, which is the round piece close to the handle and is the under-lid counterpart to the pressure indicator. In the event of excess pressure buildup, steam will escape through this valve. The smaller metal round piece next to the safety valve is the underneath side of the operating valve. Be sure this is clean and free of food particles. Steam escapes through this valve during cooking.

The last item of note on the lid is this cutout on the side which exposes some of the silicone gasket. This is the safety vent. In the event of a high-pressure buildup, steam will escape from here, and in the event of a serious pressure buildup, the gasket will actually push through the hole or tear (obviously if this happens, it needs to be replaced). Because some cooking liquid may also squirt out if this is activated, be sure this vent is pointed away from you while using the pressure cooker.

These various vents and valves are designed to release pressure in the event of a buildup to prevent the device from exploding. These measures aren't foolproof though, and it is important to follow the safety guidelines when operating a pressure cooker, such as making sure the safety components are clean and free of debris, not overfilling the pot, paying attention to signals that indicate pressure may be building up too much and never, never, never leaving the pressure cooker unattended. For more useful safety information, see Miss Vickie's post.

Equipment use

With the lid off, the pressure cooker pot is just that--a pot. A lot of recipes begin with normal stovetop cooking in the pot to brown meats and vegetables before the actual pressure cooking. Once that's done and all the ingredients are added, including an adequate amount of liquid, the lid is put on and locked into place to build pressure. Although the Fagor instructions say to heat the pot over high heat to build pressure, I always use medium-high heat, since this temperature is sufficient and, because I have an electric stove, it doesn't take as long for the burner to transition to lower heat once pressure is achieved.

Once sufficient pressure is achieved, the pressure indicator will pop up. At this point, you should reduce the heat to medium-low. This is probably the trickiest aspect of pressure-cooker use: getting the pressure temperature right. You're aiming to maintain pressure. You don't want the temperature too high or you will build up excess pressure that will release out the safety valve and safety vent, which I've done a couple times. You also don't want the temperature too low, or the pressure will drop (i.e. the pressure indicator will go down). I think it takes experience to get this right. There should be a little bit of steam coming out of the operating valve while the cooker is pressurized. If that goes away, it may be a sign your temperature is too low. Likewise, if a lot of steam is coming out around the handle, it's probably a sign the temperature is too high. Generally, right before you reach pressurization, there will be quite a bit of steam coming out, but once you reach pressure, there is very little steam.

I have had one instance of the device not coming up to pressure as expected. It should reach pressure relatively quickly--like within 5 to 10 minutes cooking at medium-high, especially if you've already been browning ingredients in the pot and it's already warm. In my case, it was on the stove for about 20-25 minutes and lots of steam was coming out, but the pressure indicator never popped up. I turned the burner off. Turned the operating valve to release steam, then removed the lid. I checked the operating valve and the emergency valve--the latter seemed to be a little sticky, so perhaps that was the problem. It's also possible the lid wasn't on quite right. After checking and cleaning those pieces, I replaced the lid and turned the stove back up. It achieved pressure really fast--like in a couple minutes--and I was back in operation.

Once you've cooked the ingredients at pressure for the specified period of time, there are three methods to release pressure:

1. Natural release. This is the easiest: just remove the pot from the stove and allow pressure to drop as it cools down. It takes the longest though--about 15 minutes. So I've never used this method.
2. Automatic release. Turn the operating valve to the steam release setting. Be careful with this, as steam will shoot out of the operating valve for a couple minutes. This method is useful if you are going to continue cooking with the pot after releasing pressure, such as reducing the cooking liquid for a sauce. 
3. Cold water release. This is the fastest method. Remove the pot from the stove and set it in the sink (be sure the sink is clean and empty). Run cold water over the lid until pressure is released. There's an audible hiss as the pressure is released. Be sure the water drains as you do this, as you don't want to immerse the pot in cold water. If you're done cooking, you'll probably want to use this method. It's also the best for vegetables that might overcook if you use one of the longer release methods.

Be careful when opening the lid even after pressure is released, since there will still be hot steam in the pot.

There's a fair amount to know about using a pressure cooker, but once you've done it a few times, you'll get the hang of it. Ready to try a recipe? Pressure-Cooked Quinoa Salad with Cauliflower is an easy place to start.

Pressure-Cooked Quinoa Salad with Cauliflower

In addition to setting a resolution to use my pressure cooker more this year, I also vowed to spend more time with my collection of cookbooks, like Modernist Cuisine at Home, Nathan Myhrvold's beautiful work that applies molecular gastronomy techniques to recipes for home cooks (it's the much shorter, simpler partner to the professionals' Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking).

You won't get very far with Modernist Cuisine at Home unless you have either a pressure cooker or a sous vide machine (or both). When I got the book, I had neither. I made the macaroni & cheese, but after that realized I needed a pressure cooker if I was going to make many of the other recipes.

This recipe for quinoa salad with cauliflower is one of the book's most accessible dishes. There's really only two "tricks" employed here: grate the cauliflower so it resembles couscous and cook the quinoa in the pressure cooker.

Quinoa cooks in a pressure cooker in the fraction of the time to boil or simmer it in a saucepan.

Why cook the quinoa this way? It saves time. It took about 10 minutes to boil the quinoa in Ginger-Hoisin Salmon with Quinoa Pilaf, not counting the time to boil the water, and about 35 minutes total cooking time to soak, boil and simmer the quinoa for Roasted Parsnip-Quinoa Salad. In this recipe, once up to pressure, the quinoa cooks in 4 minutes.

Use a mandolin to slice off just the tips of the cauliflower florets, creating a pile of couscous-like bits.

Otherwise, the rest of this dish is typical salad ingredients--diced apple, toasted pine nuts, parsley, currants--and a tangy vinaigrette dressing. The recipe calls for honey vinegar and macadamia nut oil for the dressing. Finding neither at the grocery store, I substituted white balsamic vinegar as suggested, along with walnut oil (if you can't find white balsamic vinegar, I imagine white wine vinegar or even apple cider vinegar would also be good).

Be careful with the mandolin as you prepare the cauliflower, since you can't use the safety guard to perform the task of shaving the tips of the cauliflower into a pile of little crumbs.

Pressure-Cooked Quinoa Salad with Cauliflower
Adapted from Modernist Cuisine at Home, by Nathan Myhrvold

3 cups water
1 3/4 cups white quinoa
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 head cauliflower, cut into large florets
1 green apple, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/4 cup diced celery (about 2 ribs)
1/4 cup dried currants
2 1/2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar (original recipe called for honey vinegar, which I couldn't find, but said white balsamic could be substituted)
2 1/2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. walnut oil (original recipe called for macadamia nut oil)
Salt, to taste
Lemon juice, to taste (I used fresh juice from 1/2 lemon)

1. Place a baking sheet in the freezer to chill for at least 15 minutes.

2. Combine water and quinoa in a pressure cooker. Seal the pressure cooker, set desired pressure to "high" and bring to pressure over medium-high heat. Once high pressure is achieved, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 4 minutes, maintaining high pressure. Depressurize the pressure cooker by running cold water over the lid. Transfer the quinoa to the chilled baking sheet to cool quickly.

3. Toast the pine nuts in a small nonstick frying pan over medium-low heat until fragrant and lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside.

4. Using a mandoline on its smallest setting (1/16-inch on mine), carefully shave off just the tips of the cauliflower, yielding about 1 3/4 to 2 cups of couscous-like cauliflower shavings.

5. Combine the cooked quinoa, toasted pine nuts, shaved cauliflower, apple, parsley, celery and currants in a large bowl. Add the vinegar, oils, salt and lemon juice and toss to combine.

Pressure Cooker Spring Risotto

When I was a kid, my mom sometimes cooked with a pressure cooker, and I was always thankful the kitchen was still intact when she was done. It was a noisy scary thing, with a little metal top that jiggled constantly like the whole thing could burst at any moment.

Fagor Duo 10 Quart pressure cooker. It's a lot less scary than old models I remember from my childhood.

My pressure cooker, which I got for my birthday this year, is nothing like that. The Fagor Duo 10-Quart pressure cooker is quiet with no movement apart from a gentle flow of steam. The instructions assured me there are multiple safety features to prevent an explosion. All in all, it feels quite safe and I was quite pleased with its inaugural dish: a spring risotto.

Getting the texture of risotto just right is important, and I was skeptical whether a pressure cooker could do it. The grains of rice need to be al dente, like pasta: cooked through but still chewy. After sweating the aromatic vegetables and briefly toasting the grains, would I open the device a few minutes later to find mush?

Thankfully no. The texture of the rice was spot on. It was really quite good. And instead of stirring the broth in over the course of half an hour or so--stirring frequently--the cooking time once the liquid was added (all at once) was just 7 minutes, less than a third of the usual time.

As for selecting a pressure cooker, I chose mine for several reasons. I opted for a stovetop model over an electric one, since it allows you to use the pot for sautéing and browning, whereas an electric model requires a separate pan for that. I chose a 10-quart model since a larger pressure cooker is more versatile (I could do canning in this one if I chose to). America's Test Kitchen also highly rates Fagor.

Pressure Cooker Spring Risotto

3 oz. pancetta, diced
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium (or 2 small) yellow onion, diced
1 fennel bulb, cored and diced
Salt, to taste
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Vitiano 2012 verdicchio/vermentino blend)
1 cup frozen (or fresh) peas
2 cups loosely packed baby spinach leaves
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup grated pecorino-romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives (half reserved)

1. Heat pressure cooker pan over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until lightly browned. Remove from pan. Add olive oil. When hot, add onion, fennel and salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rice and cooked until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes more. Add wine and stir until absorbed, a couple minutes.

2. Add peas, spinach and broth and stir to combine. Close and lock the lid. Set the cooker to high pressure (15 PSI). When the pan reaches pressure, lower the heat and cook for 7 minutes (follow your pressure cooker's instructions for achieving high pressure and setting the temperature, as they may vary by model and will vary depending on whether you use a gas or electric range).

3. Use a quick-release cold water method to subside pressure and open the cooker. Stir in the grated cheese. Serve in bowls topped with fresh chives.