Or cooking methods, call them what you will.
Hack #1: Pumpkins and Squashes
You see here a magnificent specimen of Crown Prince Squash, given to me weeks ago at one of my cookery classes by my friend Jane Steward. It has been sitting on the side ever since I got it home. I am very fond of this type of squash – lovely dense, creamy flesh that isn’t too sweet - but it takes me ages to get round to tackling them, because - well, they aren’t easy are they? Very hard, almost impenetrable skin, that dense flesh – cutting them up can be quite an undertaking, even if you are strong of hand. (I do not feel very strong of hand).
And then I remembered - and felt stupid for forgetting - that I could soften it in the pressure cooker first. You can soften or cook all kinds of things in the pressure cooker if you don’t want the faff of peeling them first. I do this with Jerusalem artichokes, potatoes, swede, celeriac….there are numerous benefits, but apart from the fact the skin comes away very easily once it is softened/steamed and there tends to be less waste, the flesh will also stay drier – no water logging at all. This makes for much better textured purees and mashes. There are options as to how long you cook for too – you can cook so they are completely cooked through (works best with potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, squashes and pumpkins, not so well with celeriac and swede as it takes much longer), or you can cook for just long enough for the skin (and the outer layer of flesh) to have softened.
For this particular squash, I wanted the flesh to still be firm, so I could still cook it again without it disintegrating.
The method.
So easy. If your squash is small enough, balance it on a trivet. I found that wasn’t going to work with this squash – it was too big, even for my 6 litre Kuhn Rikon and my Instant Pot. Instead I folded up a bit of tea towel and placed it on that, using a foil sling to lower it into the cooker as it was quite a tight fit (and now I think about it, I could probably have just wrapped it in a tea towel). I added just 2cm of water to the base of the cooker.
Then up to high pressure, cook for 8 minutes and fast release. This will give you a firm texture. For a soft (ie, pureeable texture all the way through), cook for 12 minutes.
The fun bit is removing the skin – the pressure cooker turns it into a texture very similar to that of a pepper and it will peel off in strips in the same way as a roasted or steamed pepper. It is very satisfying to do.
You will be left with an outer layer of flesh which will be tinged green. Taste this – if it is bitter – more bitter than you would like – you can scrape it off. Otherwise, leave it on. Then cut it up as you like, scooping out the innards. I toast the seeds too – there are always a lot and they make a great snack, dressed in salt or sugar and spices (dare I say pumpkin spices?!).
You can now use the pumpkin/squash as you like. I now have about 2kg of semi-cooked pumpkin to play with. I used some today to add to the mince/quince tagine I have been talking about and have been reminded about posting a recipe for. I will hopefully do so later in the week.
Hack #2: Pressure Roast Aubergines
I was developing a recipe involving stuffed aubergines and thought even if the dish is finished off in the oven or under the grill, it would save a lot of time and fuel if I could do the first bit in the pressure cooker. It works.
Simply halve your aubergines lengthways and score a cross hatch through the flesh. Season with salt. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in your pressure cooker. Sear the aubergines, flesh side down until you have a bit of colour, then, flip over and cook for another minute. Then add a splash of water, bring up to high pressure, cook for 1 minute only and fast release.
Turn flesh side down for a couple of minutes, on a rack, just to drain off any liquid, then scoop out the flesh and follow whatever recipe you are using. So simple!
And finally….
What I’ve cooked in my pressure cooker since my last post:
A bunch of beetroot for a beef and beetroot salad I was making
Caramelised endive - also for the beef and beetroot salad
1 thermos meal so far this week - leftover potatoes with sausage meat, onion and peas
Roast quince
A lamb mince and roast quince tagine with pumpkin
Pressure sauteed January King Cabbage
Par cooked baby potatoes before roasting
A big pile of sprout tops, steamed and smothered in butter
Cinnamon flavoured rice pudding (for fed up son)
Rhubarb compote - more of a textured puree, really. Forced rhubarb is already in the shops. In December. Is it normally this early?!
It strikes me that it might be nice to make this slightly more interactive and ask what you have been cooking too?
I must admit I don’t ever peel Crown Prince (I’ve been lucky enough to have Jane’s too 🧡) for extra fibre, but I do like the idea of cooking it whole, not least because cutting into them raw with my big chef’s knife is quite scary!
Since your last newsletter I’ve cooked for the dog (always), made a strange soup with Crown Prince gochujang paste and noodles, speedy mashed potatoes, your easy lamb curry and the next night your kitcheree to have with the left over lamb. Very nice!
I inevitably burnt the tomato on the base of the curry (yes I deglazed and brought it up to full steam as fast as possible so- still tasted gorgeous) but that holds no fear for me since discovering that boiling up a teaspoon or so of oxygen bleach and leaving for half an hour leaves the pressure cooker shiny as new :)
I’ve had an IP for years but don’t use it very often. So, inspired by your Substack I bought a Kuhn rikon 3.5l at a v good price in their sale. Its first outing was a lentil and potato stew from their recipe book. I was thrilled with the machine - such an improvement on my old and v noisy jiggly pressure cooker. The IP now lives in the cupboard under the stairs for occasional outings to bulk cook pulses for the freezer. And the gleaming Kuhn is permanently on my stove. So thank you. Really enjoying this stack and your books. (Vegetarian adventurous cook, single person household).