Pressure Perfect: Two Hour Taste in Twenty Minutes Using Your Pressure Cooker – The Authority's Comprehensive Guide with 200+ Weeknight Recipes - Hardcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Lorna Sass, Ph.D., is a culinary historian and a James Beard Award-winning author of many highly acclaimed cookbooks, including Pressure Perfect, The Pressured Cook, and Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure. She has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Bon Appétit, Prevention, Metropolitan Home, and Woman's Day, among others. She lives in New York City.

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Under pressure to get a tasty, nutritious dinner on the table in a flash? Like the idea of preparing fork-tender beef stew in thirty minutes and pot roast in under an hour? All this and more is made possible by the pressure cooker, a magical appliance that produces soul-satisfying, homemade food in one-third (or less) the standard cooking time.

In Pressure Perfect, Lorna Sass, the country's leading authority on pressure cooking, distills her two decades of experience into one comprehensive volume. First learn everything you need to know about buying and using today's 100% safe cookers. Then enjoy more than 200 recipes for preparing soups, meats, poultry, grains, beans, vegetables, and desserts in record time. How about whipping up a savory risotto in 4 minutes, chicken cacciatore in 12 minutes, or a delectable chocolate cheesecake in 25 minutes?

Because the pressure cooker tenderizes tough cuts of meat quickly, you can prepare fall-off-the-bone beef short ribs or lamb shanks on weekday nights instead of waiting for a special occasion. The pressure cooker also allows you to make delectable one-pot meals in minutes. Among the many innovative recipes and techniques, you'll learn to cook meatloaf and potatoes simultaneously in 10 minutes, and meatballs, pasta, and sauce at the same time in only 5 minutes. Many recipes also suggest Cook-Along ideas for preparing vegetables and grains along with the entrée.

To further help those cooking under pressure (and who isn't nowadays?), each chapter contains timing charts for quick reference. Tips and Pressure Points in every recipe ensure optimum results.

This ultimate guide to pressure cooking is a must for all busy cooks, boaters, brides, college students, and anyone looking for a great way to make irresistible, healthy, home-made food fast.

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Excerpt

Penne with Winter Squash and Ricotta

Serves 3 TO 4

The idea of combining pasta and squash comes from the kitchens of northern Italy. I've added ricotta to make the dish more substantial. A generous quantity of toasted hazelnuts provides agreeable crunch to this otherwise mellow dish.

The squash is cut into two sizes. The smaller pieces "melt down" and blend with the ricotta to create a pale orange sauce that coats the penne. The larger pieces break up into small chunks and offer dots of bright color. Serve as an entree accompanied by a crisp salad.

5 minutes high pressure

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, halved, and seeded
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
3 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt (omit if using salty broth)
12 ounces penne or other short, cut pasta that normally cooks in 9 to 13 minutes
1 cup ricotta (whole-fat or low-fat)
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground sage
2 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus more to pass at the table
1 cup toasted hazelnuts or walnuts (see page 19), coarselychopped

Instructions

Cut half the squash into 3/4 -inch chunks and the remaining squash into 2-inch pieces. Set aside.

Heat the butter in a 6-quart or larger cooker. Stir in the onions, chicken broth, salt (if using), and smaller pieces of squash. Bring to a boil and add the pasta. (It's okay if all of the pasta is not covered with liquid.) Set the remaining squash on top.

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat bring to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Quick-release the pressure. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape.

Add the ricotta, sage and parsley to taste, and the parmesan. Stir gently until some of the squash dissolves. Break apart any pasta that is stuck together.

Let the dish rest in the cooker for 3 to 5 minutes so that the flavors can meld. If the pasta is not uniformly tender, replace the lid during this period and set the cooker over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is done.

Stir in the toasted nuts. Serve in large, shallow bowls. Pass additional parmesan at the table.

Variations

• VEGETARIAN VERSION: Use vegetable broth instead ofchicken.
• Brown 1 /2 pound ground pork or veal in oil before addingonions.
• Instead of sage, use dried oregano or freshly grated nutmeg totaste.
• Use a kabocha squash instead of butternut. Kabocha (alsocalled Hokkaido pumpkin) is available in some supermarketsand many health food stores. It is not necessary to peel kabocha;just scrub well and trim off any blemishes.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Pressure Perfectby Sass, Lorna J. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.Copyright © 2003 Jim Thompson
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