I love the pressure cooker and have used it for baked cheese cakes, hurrying up the cooking of a lamb roast, silverside, massoman curries, any number of casseroles, ribs, potatoes for mash and roasting, Christmas cakes, the list is endless. But it takes, a fair bit of courage to get started, a sense of adventure to try converting your conventional recipes to this method, and persistance to keep going and not revert to the easy option of doing things the way you have always done them.

I discovered a recipe for Risotto made in the pressure cooker in last months Woolworths catalogue, so below is my adaptation. Risotto is something that should be easy to make because, apart from arborio rice and parmesan, the ingredients can be anything that is in the house at the time. It is just the standing and stirring that is the turn off. With this recipe I turned out a risotto in less than 15 minutes.

Spinach and Chicken Risotto in  a pressure cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs butter
  • 1 onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 cups arborio rice
  • meat or prawns – about 1 breast raw or equivalent of cooked leftover
  • 4 cups boiling water
  • 1 tbs Vegetta or other stock
  • 2 cups vegetables (spinach, kale, mushrooms)
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan
  • parsley
  • lemon rind
  • lemon juice

Method

Think like Jamie Oliver – the way to do it fast:

  1. Put the kettle on to boil. Put the pressure cooker on the stove to heat.
  2. Chop the onion and garlic and add to the pressure cooker with the butter. Set the timer and cook for 2 minutes.
  3. Add rice and stir to coat.
  4. Mix vegetta with boiling water and stir into the rice. Add meat. Close the lid and bring to pressure. Set timer for 7 minutes. Release pressure and remove lid.
  5. Stir in vegetables and a squeeze of lemon juice (check liquid levels and adjust) stand covered for 2-5 minutes to absorb moisture.
  6. Stir in cheese and lemon rind.
  7. Serve.