A couple of recipes and a pressure cooker giveaway

Chicken with Orzo and some buttery steamed spring vegetables

I have just got back from what was going to be a very quick food shopping trip into town. I say was going to be very quick - I totally misjudged how busy it was going to be and it was that thing of constantly being stopped in my tracks. We are very much in back to school mode here with Adam having his first experience of mock GCSE exams (NOT good today, apparently) and Lilly gearing up for A levels and so I was a bit nonplussed to find Central London absolutely heaving.

I nipped over to Borough Market for Brindisa, Neal’s Yard Dairy and Fitz Fine Foods (their tarragon mustard is back in stock again after years and I am delighted as it is the best) and literally could not move for all the organised food tours and the many people queuing up for selfies with plastic cups of chocolate sauce coated strawberries. I know I’ve moaned about this before, but I find it so sad. Especially today as it is the antithesis of Earth Day.

Yes, it is Earth Day and my birthday so as is traditional I am marking the occasion with a giveaway. This year I am giving away a brand new Tower pressure cooker and a copy of Everyday Pressure Cooking to one of you - all you have to do is like/comment/share/make your presence felt and I will choose someone by end of play Friday.

This particular Tower pressure cooker is the latest one I’ve been testing. I’ve been trying to find a budget cooker I like and so far this one has done well. It has managed everything I have thrown at it and seems pretty well built so I feel safe about recommending it.

I know most of you will already have a pressure cooker - if you don’t, please make sure you enter! And for the rest of you - I think you probably realise by now that having a second (or third, or fourth) pressure cooker can be very useful indeed - many of my meals use more than one and not having to decant food so you can use the cooker again makes things much easier logistically. It means you can cook concurrently instead of consecutively.

So - here is a meal which relied on two pressure cookers.

Chicken and Orzo with Fennel, Lemon and Chard

This is quite a delicate dish - sweet with a bit of bite from the mustard, but generally quite mellow, even with the lemon zest. You could make it really punchy if you wanted to by stirring in a wild garlic pesto at the end. I was lazy so just stirred through some finely chopped three cornered leek. You could also go the other way and make it creamy with the addition of creme fraiche, cream or cream cheese. A couple of tablespoons should do it. I like this - the combination of lemon, tarragon and cream with chicken is so good. And this brings me onto the possibility of leftovers - it will make a really good, creamy soup, with or without leftover vegetables. Just add chicken stock and any garnishes you like.

The chard - this main recipe just uses the stems and the leaves go into the vegetable side dish. If you want to just make the one dish, make it one pot by adding the leaves too. Just stir in when you have added the water and leave to wilt down for a minute or two before you return the chicken to the cooker.

One final thing - you might be tempted to add fennel seed to this dish, but I advise you not to do this - or at least not to add more than a pinch - because pressure cooking will intensify the flavour and, for me at least, make it a bit too sweet. If you want to add fennel seed, the best way to do so is to treat it like a tadka and fry in a little oil or butter, then pour over the orzo once it has cooked, before serving.

2 tbsp olive oil

4 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in

1 onion, diced

1 small fennel bulb, diced

1 bunch of chard (around 350-400g, leaves and stems separated, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

500g orzo

1 tbsp Dijon or tarragon mustard

100ml white wine (optional)

2 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs tarragon

1 lemon zested then cut into wedges

Optional extra - finely chopped three cornered leek or wild garlic

Heat your pressure cooker. Loosen the flesh from around the bone of the chicken thighs - the best way to do this is to slice along the bone on either side - and flatten the thighs out a little. This will help it cook evenly. Season the chicken with salt and a little pepper if you like. Add the oil to the pressure cooker followed by the thighs, skin side down. Leave to brown thoroughly while you prep your vegetables.

When the skin is crisp and brown, remove from the pressure cooker. Add the onion, fennel and chard stems only and saute until they start to steam. Add the garlic and stir for a minute, then add the orzo. Stir to toast the orzo, then add the mustard and wine if using. Simmer until the wine has boiled off, then pour in enough water to generously cover - 750ml should do it. I find orzo takes a little more water than most types of pasta - it is denser.

Add the herbs and season generously with salt and pepper. Make sure the base of the cooker is thoroughly deglazed. Return the chicken to the pressure cooker, skin side up. Close the lid and bring up to high pressure. Adjust the heat so it is just high enough to maintain the pressure, then cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and manually release the pressure. Do this gradually over a minute or two, don’t rush it (you should always be careful with a fast release of anything starchy). Stir in the lemon zest and the three cornered leek or wild garlic if you have it. The dish is ready to serve at this point, but my family like a slight crust on their orzo - if you do too, leave it on a very low heat for a few minutes so it develops the orzo equivalent of a tahdig (does this have a name? I’m sure one of you must know!)

Now for the vegetable side dish:

Buttery Steamed Leeks, Chard and Asparagus

I think this was my first asparagus meal of the year, more to come… you can of course change the vegetables as you like with this. But the order is quite important here - you want the leeks on the base as they need the extra heat/liquid to get tender in the time, especially the tougher green parts, compared to the asparagus which is happy just sitting on top, steaming. There are variables of course - some of the asparagus I have seen this year has been very fat - these stems might need a little longer once you take your cooker off the heat, perhaps as long as a minute. But this won’t bother the leeks or the chard.

1 tbsp olive oil

15g butter

2 leeks, cut into rounds

Leaves from the bunch of chard, above

2 bunches asparagus, trimmed or snapped

Leaves from 2 sprigs tarragon, finely chopped

Heat your pressure cooker and add the oil and butter. When the butter has foamed, add the leeks and leave to cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the chard leaves and put the asparagus on top. Season with salt and pepper.

Make sure plenty of steam is being generated then add a splash of water - 50ml should be enough. Bring up to high pressure, then immediately remove from the heat and leave to stand for 30 seconds for perfect al dente, a little longer for a more tender result. Stir in the tarragon and serve. You can add more butter if you like (I usually do!)

Thank you for reading! Please don’t forget to get in touch if you would like the chance to win the pressure cooker and book. And this is an open access post so please share with anyone else you think might enjoy it or who you would like to convert to the joys of pressure cooking!