Instant Pot recipes

[applestar]

I tried the meatloaf cooked pot-in-pot method on top of veg in the Instant Pot.

I found two suitable “in” containers — one is a stray stainless steel camping pot (no handle — lost the detacheable handle and lid) that I use as a prep bowl sometimes, and another one is a biggest Pyrex glass storage bowl (I think 7 cup?)

It turned out that even though these were biggest that would fit, neither of them were big enough to hold the usual amount of meatloaf I make, but they were exactly right size for 1/2.

So I mixed up the ingredients (today’s was made with ground beef, pork, and turkey thigh, leftover whole grain and wild rice mix and corn meal + rolled oats, onions, celery, carrots, beaten eggs. pasta sauce, garlic sauce, teriyaki sauce, ketchup. Dill, smoked paprika, chili powder.) — then made the camp pot meatloaf first, with “mashed potatoes” which seemed to be the standard — except I only had 3 potatoes so added 1/2 head of cauliflower, cooked under the meatloaf, and mashed them together when the meatloaf was done and removed.

The glass storage bowl filled with 2nd 1/2 of the mixed meatloaf recipe waited covered in the fridge, then I made more after all the mashed potatoes/cauliflower was gone. This time with some of my Greek Sweet Red squash in the bottom under the glass bowl of meatloaf. These were not mashed.

Great hit with my family.

[pepperhead212]

I made another one of those jambalaya type dishes I made a few weeks ago with canned salmon, but this time I cut up some frozen whiting, I cut a few cubes of, and steamed, for the first serving. I'll do same when I re-heat each time. It was almost as good as shrimp would have been in it! This could be done in a heavy Dutch oven, on the stovetop, but I do it easier in the Instant Pot.

I started by soaking a little over an oz of dried tomatoes (equivalent of a lb) in some hot water, and a little under a cup of oat groats (the end of the jar), and 2/3 c brown basmati rice in some warm water, while I was cutting everything, and starting the cooking. I started with a large diced onion in a few tb olive oil, on sauté mode, and cut up a half lb of diced ham and added that, then 2 huge cloves minced garlic, then added 1 large diced bell pepper, then I added the herbs and spices - ¼ tsp ground bay, 3/4 tsp Syrian oregano (think Thyme), 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano, and 1/2 tsp ground cloves, plus the heat - about a tsp of "green powder" (my misc. dried green chilis), and a tsp of morita flakes (also adds more smokiness). Cooked that about a minute, then added 1/2 c white vermouth, and cooked about a minute. Then added all the last of the small celery stalks and leaves, plus one large diced stalk (maybe 2 cups). The last thing cut up, and added were all the extra bok choy stalks I had (saved the greens for other dishes). While this was cooking down, I ground up the soaked tomatoes in some of the water, then washed the Vitamix out with the rest of the water - about 4 c total. Then I rinsed the oats and rice off (soaked about 25 min total), and stirred in, and salted to taste, about 1½ tsp. I set it to wholegrain mode, on low (this is slower, but keeps the IP from boiling quickly, and breaking apart the grains), and 25 min., and put the lid on, and sealed. Then prepared that whiting - my substitute for the shrimp. When the dish was ready (turned out perfect - no water on the bottom, and nothing sticking!), I put the fish on the surface, put the lid on, but left the valve off, and set it to slow cook/high, for steaming it 3 minutes (same thing I do with shrimp). I ate all the whiting in the first serving, and it was delicious. I learned to like that fish in my early days, when I bought it because it was cheap, and being at the shore, it was incredibly fresh, along with other fish there.
About 2/3 oat groats and 1/3 brown basmati, soaked about 25 minutes, to cook in the jambalaya type dish. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The oats and rice, added to the Instant Pot, with the other sautéed ingredients, to pressure cook. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Just a small amount of whiting, to add to steam at the end, like I do with shrimp, in jambalaya. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The finished "jambalaya", with the whiting steamed 3 minutes, on slow cook high. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A serving of the jambalaya dish, serving all of the whiting chunks. I'll add more, when re-heating. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

Looks good! Making notes about using Slow Cook HIGH 3 minutes for steaming seafood on top

[imafan26]

Looks great.

[pepperhead212]

The leftovers were just as good! Still 2 more left, with a little of the fish left for both.

[pepperhead212]

I made some butter chicken, but I made it with skinned legs, not boneless, as it is usually done. I pulled the cooked chicken off the bones, cut some smaller, then put it back in the finished sauce. Most call for heavy cream at the end, some for "hung" curd, which is like Greek yogurt, but not quite as thick. What I did, since I had it on hand, was used creme fraiche, which turned out great! This was served with some jeera rice. Absolutely delicious, and I almost went to get a silicone spatula to scrape the last bit out of the bowl!

Jeera rice, with a tarka cooked in ghee, of mostly cumin, plus a few cardamom pods, whole cloves, an Indian bay leaf, a star anise, and some minced up green chilies. by pepperhead212, on Flickr



The butter chicken sauce about 3/4 finished, with the chicken added, to cook 14 minutes under pressure, and release 15 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr



Chicken removed, to cool some, then added a little more salt, and garam masala, and some methi leaves and creme fraiche. by pepperhead212, on Flickr



Finished butter sauce, before adding the "pulled" chicken back into it. by pepperhead212, on Flickr



Butter chicken, served with the jeera rice. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

It looks really rich and creamy

[pepperhead212]

I had some more of that butter chicken and that jeera rice, and it was just as good leftover! And just as hot! The shrimp was a little hotter, but I wasn't expecting this to be as hot as it is. I think this batch of Kashmiri pepper powder was much hotter than the regular. Usually it's like a mild Numex, as far as heat. I'll have to make some of my own, from the whole Kashmiri peppers, which are barely hot at all, when chewed up whole. I added some vegetable to it, by dicing up a couple of those bok choy stems, and heating that up in the sauce with some chicken.

[pepperhead212]

I made an unusual dish for a late lunch, or snack - some 1,2,3,4,5 chicken gizzards, or 5 spice chicken gizzards, for a name most would know better. The 1,2,3,4,5 name is from a dish I've been making since the 80s, which is for spareribs, chopped into 1 to 1½" pieces (I have a large, heavy chopping board that one side is all hacked up, from chopping hundreds of those things, through the years), and 1½ lbs gets put in a 9½" sauté pan (or the 12" sauté pan for a double recipe), to which I add 1 tb Chinese cooking wine, 2 tb soy sauce (I always do 1 light and 1 dark), 3 tb white vinegar, 4 tb sugar, and 5 tb water, and just an option, but delicious, about a tsp of Chinese 5 spice powder. This is brought to a boil, and cooked 45 min. over medium low heat, stirring a couple times. Then the liquid is boiled down to a syrup (sometimes not much is left!), then served, with all that syrup scraped from the pan. This is a favorite among my friends, and I have used the method and numbers for many other dishes - usually 1 lb, if boneless, and for things like boneless chicken thighs, I'll remove the thighs after 20 min, then boil down the liquid by itself, then put the chicken back into the syrup.

In this case, I cooked the 2 lbs of gizzards in the Instant Pot, under pressure for 75 (would have taken about 3 hours on the stovetop!), and it released after 13 minutes, then I hit Off, then Sauté, and adjust once, to cook on high, until syrupy - maybe 15 min, or a little less. They were super tender, and had that "irony" taste gizzards have, even more so.
The gizzards in the Instant Pot, showing the syrup after boiling down on High Sauté mode, from about an inch deep. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

About a quarter of the finished 5 spice chicken gizzards, pressure cooked 75 minutes, then boiled down to a syrup. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

A unique way to use gizzards.

[pepperhead212]

For dinner, I made a batch of mushroom, barley, and lentil soup, with some unusual purple barley, plus some mung beans - in this case, some split, but not hulled, available in Indian markets, and I often use to thicken things like this. I started it by soaking 3/4 oz of boletus mushrooms, washed them out very well, and used the strained soaking water in the soup. I made a mirepoix of a large onion, medium carrot, and a stalk of celery, cooked on Sauté medium in the Instant Pot about 5 minutes in some olive oil, then for about a minute cooked about a tb of minced garlic, and a couple of tsp each of rosemary and marjoram, minced with the garlic. Then I put the finely chopped boletus, and the soaking and washing water (about 2 c), switched the IP to Sauté High, and boiled almost all that off, then added 8 c chicken broth, and let it come back to a boil. Then I added 1/2 c each purple barley, and the split, but not hulled mung beans, and about 1½ tb soy sauce, for the salt. I set that for 30 min on Manual, let it release 15 min, and the barley still needed some more cooking! I also added about 1/3 c more of those moong dal, as it needed more thickening, and set for 10 minutes more cooking, and released 12 minutes (hard to believe that barley was still visible!), and after this, put the browned mushrooms in (cooked separately, while doing these other things), and just simmered another 5 min. This way, the mushrooms keep some flavor and "bite" to them, instead of getting overcooked, and the boletus give most of the flavor to the soup.
I made a batch of mushroom, barley, and lentil soup, with some unusual purple barley, plus some mung beans - in this case, some split, but not hulled, available in Indian markets, and I often use to thicken things like this. I started it by soaking 3/4 oz of boletus mushrooms, washed them out very well, and used the strained soaking water in the soup. I made a mirepoix of a large onion, medium carrot, and a stalk of celery, cooked on Sauté medium in the Instant Pot about 5 minutes in some olive oil, then for about a minute cooked about a tb of minced garlic, and a couple of tsp each of rosemary and marjoram, minced with the garlic. Then I put the finely chopped boletus, and the soaking and washing water (about 2 c), switched the IP to Sauté High, and boiled almost all that off, then added 8 c chicken broth, and let it come back to a boil. Then I added 1/2 c each purple barley, and the split, but not hulled mung beans, and about 1½ tb soy sauce, for the salt. I set that for 30 min on Manual, let it release 15 min, and the barley still needed some more cooking! I also added about 1/3 c more of those moong dal, as it needed more thickening, and set for 10 minutes more cooking, and released 12 minutes (hard to believe that barley was still visible!), and after this, put the browned mushrooms in (cooked separately, while doing these other things), and just simmered another 5 min. This way, the mushrooms keep some flavor and "bite" to them, instead of getting overcooked, and the boletus give most of the flavor to the soup.
Mushroom barley soup, with the boletus and cooking down, with the mirepoix and soaking water. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

1/2 c each of purple barley and split, but not hulled, mung beans, for the mushroom soup. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A pound of creminis, cooked separately, while the barley and lentils are cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The mushroom, barley,, lentil soup, almost finished. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished mushroom, barley, and lentil soup, topped with a little reggiano. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I made a chole masala today, with green chickpeas, I soaked overnight. I then just pressure cooked those for an hour in the Instant Pot, and let it release, and it was barely cooked! I drained the chana, and started the generous cup of onions in the IP in Sauté mode in a little olive oil, and in about 5 minutes added 4 large minced cloves of garlic, and about 3 tb of that chana masala powder I made up, stirred about 30 seconds, then added a pint of tomato purée, and simmered, while adding 3/4 tsp turmeric, and a tsp of garam masala, and added the chana, plus about half the liquid, and a generous 4 cups of chopped kale and bok choy, brought to a simmer, then cooked about 30 min. Not quite thick enough, so I also added about a half cup of steel cut oats, set it to pressure cook 3 minutes, then let it release naturally. Turned out great!

Meanwhile, I cooked some flatbread to eat with it - some jowar roti, which I pressed out in a tortilla press, since the sorghum flour has no gluten, like masa.
A jowar roti, pressed out in a tortilla press - works well because there is no gluten. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

A jowar roti, to serve with the chole masala, cooked in a CI pan I use for a lot of small flatbreads. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The finished chole masala, made with some green chickpeas, a bunch of greens, a small amount of red lentils, and some steel cut oats. by pepperhead212, on Flickr