pressure cooker Archives - A Calculated Whisk

Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo (Instant Pot or Not)

January 16, 2017 By Becky 14 Comments

This paleo, Whole30-compliant shrimp and sausage gumbo is a flavor-packed meal that comes together in half an hour in the Instant Pot, and just a little longer on the stovetop.

Today’s recipe comes from my friend Megan‘s book, The Big 15 Paleo Cookbook. If you don’t have it, you need to get your hands on it as soon as possible. It’s full of simple but delicious paleo recipes made with straightforward ingredients. The book has 15 chapters, each focusing on recipes made with one of the “big 15” paleo ingredients (see the cover below to find out what they are!). I chose to make the gumbo recipe from the shrimp chapter, and while I wondered how it would turn out since it’s made with just a handful of everyday ingredients, I was definitely not disappointed.

You don’t have to bother with a roux–this paleo shrimp and sausage gumbo gets its great flavor from vegetables, healthy cooking fat, and Creole seasoning, plus the shrimp and sausage themselves. Megan recommends using shell-on shrimp for better flavor. I was hesitant at first, but after trying it I really do think the gumbo has more flavor due to having the shrimp shells in while it cooks. Using unpeeled shrimp also makes it harder to overcook them, which is often a problem with quick-cooking shrimp. It’s a little messy peeling the saucy shrimp, but it’s also kind of fun. I love a good hands-on eating experience! If you don’t, you can peel them beforehand or even buy pre-peeled shrimp.

40 Whole30 Instant Pot Recipes

January 11, 2017 By Becky 4 Comments

Move over, slow cooker–you’ve been replaced! This roundup of Whole30 Instant Pot recipes will help you save tons of time and eat ridiculously well while meeting your nutritional goals.

Looking for more Whole30 recipes? Check out these 16 Whole30 Sheet Pan Dinners. Also, there are over 80 Whole30-compliant recipes in my cookbook, Paleo Planet!

If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, you are missing out! This electronic pressure cooker has quickly become my number one kitchen gadget because it saves me so much time without sacrificing any flavor. I have this model, which is just $99 right now, but there’s also a new bluetooth version that looks pretty amazing.

With the Instant Pot, recipes that take all day in a slow cooker are done in just an hour or two, which is perfect for people like me who don’t excel at planning ahead. It also has a sauté feature, so you can brown meats right in the pot before pressure cooking. And if you enjoy being able to have dinner simmering away slowly all day while you’re at work, worry not–in addition to high and low pressure settings, the Instant Pot also has slow cooker settings. It’s perfect for making rice, too, so you can basically replace your crockpot and your rice cooker with this one miracle appliance. It’s also a great steamer, and has settings for pasteurizing milk and making yogurt (I have yet to use those, but I like knowing they’re there).

If you’re doing a January Whole30, these Instant Pot recipes will save you from food boredom while also saving you tons of time. Even if you’re not doing a Whole30, these healthful, real-food recipes are perfect for feeding you and your family any night of the week.

Whole30 Instant Pot Chicken Recipes:

Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup from Real Simple Good

Cheesy Chicken & Green Zoodles from The Castaway Kitchen

Pressure Cooker Lemongrass & Coconut Chicken from Nom Nom Paleo

Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

December 21, 2016 By Becky 13 Comments

These easy Instant Pot mashed potatoes save time and are just as delicious as stovetop taters. There’s a paleo and Whole30 version, too!

Ever since I got my Instant Pot last year on Black Friday, I haven’t had to wait for water to boil to make mashed potatoes and have pretty much forgotten about the stovetop version. The Instant Pot is just so much easier and faster–there’s really no comparison. The potatoes cook start to finish in about 20 minutes, and then I mash them right in the pressure cooker with a handheld potato masher. Done and done.

There are two versions in the recipe card below–the version I normally make, and the version I make when I’m doing a Whole30. In my mind there’s really no question that the regular version is a little better, but the cream-free version certainly does the trick when I’m craving the comfort of mashed potatoes during a month of squeaky-clean paleo eating. In both versions the potatoes are cooked with chicken stock instead of water, which means you don’t have to drain them. It also adds flavor and nutrition. If you use bone broth like I do, your mashed potatoes will have a good amount of protein in them!

The main difference between the two variations is that the Whole30 version calls for more stock since you won’t be adding cream later. It also calls for a little extra ghee to make up for that lack of cream. I always like to finish off my mashed potatoes by adding a little more butter or ghee on top, and in the winter I love to add some finely minced rosemary, too. In the warmer months, snipped chives provide a similar pop of color and freshness.

Pressure Cooker Ropa Vieja (Slow Cooker, too!)

December 12, 2016 By Becky 47 Comments

Pressure cooker ropa vieja is a time-saving version of the traditional Cuban beef dish, and is naturally gluten and dairy free. There’s also a slow cooker version! This post is sponsored by Pomí in partnership with Honest Cooking.

Have you tried ropa vieja? Don’t worry about the fact that the name is Spanish for “old clothes”–this is supremely delicious comfort food, with nothing old or ragged about it. To make this pressure cooker ropa vieja, beef is quickly seared, then cooked until tender in an addictive sauce made with Pomí tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, smoked paprika, and other spices. Next, capers, raisins, and pimiento peppers are added for pops of color, sweetness, and tart, briny flavor. The result is a dish so soothing and satisfying that Ben and I aren’t even close to being tired of it, despite having eaten three giant batches over the past two weeks.

No pressure cooker? Don’t fret. This ropa vieja is just as delicious made in a slow cooker. I was surprised to find the two versions indistinguishable in taste and texture, so it’s really just a question of how much time you have and which appliance you want to use.

I used Pomí Organic Strained Tomatoes for this recipe. They’re similar to crushed tomatoes and provide all the great umami-packed flavor of fresh tomatoes grown in the Italian sunshine. (By the way, I also tested this recipe with Pomí’s chopped tomatoes and they worked great, too!) I love that they’re organic and non-GMO certified. If you’re interested in more recipes using Pomí tomatoes, you can download their free e-cookbook right here.

Five-Ingredient Instant Pot Carnitas

October 5, 2016 By Becky 10 Comments

These easy five-ingredient Instant Pot carnitas are tender and juicy, with a great citrusy flavor. They are wonderful over rice, in tacos, in lettuce wraps, with an egg on top, or just plain!

These slow-cooker carnitas lettuce wraps are one of my favorite dinners, and ever since getting an Instant Pot, I’ve been working on converting the carnitas recipe so it can be made more quickly. It’s not necessarily weeknight quick because it takes about an hour and a half to make, but that’s a lot less than the 8-10 hour slow-cooking time. This is perfect for whipping up on a weekend afternoon to have a stockpile of delicious meat for the days ahead.

To make this recipe extra easy, I’ve streamlined the ingredients list. You only need five things (not counting salt, pepper, and water). Also, this recipe is made start to finish in the Instant Pot, without any broiling at the end or any other dirty pans.

Carnitas are traditionally made on the stovetop like this, where they cook low and slow, often with spices and citrus juices. Eventually, all of the juices cook off, and the carnitas begin to caramelize and crisp up a little in the dry pan. When I make carnitas in my crockpot, I have to discard most of the juices and broil the carnitas after slow cooking to crisp them up and get that characteristic carnitas texture. With the Instant Pot’s saute feature, though, I can cook off all of the liquid pretty quickly without using more than one pot. That means Instant Pot carnitas are just as easy as the original stovetop version, but much quicker.

Instant Pot Chicken Stock (Bone Broth)

February 1, 2016 By Becky 35 Comments

Instant Pot chicken stock is so much easier and faster than the stovetop version! The finished stock is wonderful on its own or in any number of paleo soups, sauces, and braises.

Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Check out my easy mashed potatoes, ropa vieja, and five-ingredient carnitas (or see them all here).

I’ve been talking about my weekly routine of roasting a whole chicken ever since the first wisp of cool air blew into Chattanooga in the fall, and I’m still going strong. Since buying myself an Instant Pot on Black Friday, though, the process of making the chicken bones into stock has gotten so much faster and more flexible. I used to have to set aside a whole morning or evening at home to make stock since it needs to simmer on the stove for such a long time, but I can make Instant Pot chicken stock, start to finish, in less than two hours. (In case you haven’t had the pleasure of using one yet, and Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker that cooks food extremely fast, and can replace both your rice cooker and your slow cooker. It’s so much fun!)

Instant pot chicken stock is more delicious, too–pressure cooking condenses all the wonderful flavors and aromatics perfectly. (And by the way, this is bone broth! The only reason I didn’t name the recipe Instant Pot Bone Broth is that I don’t really like the way the phrase “bone broth” sounds. But bone broth is really just amped-up stock with a large ratio of bones to other ingredients, and this definitely fits the bill. It also gels up wonderfully in the fridge, so there’s plenty of collagen in it!)

Here’s the before and after of all the bones, aromatics, and seasonings in the Instant Pot. I used carrot, celery, shallot, leek, parsley, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. If you’re missing one or two of the vegetables, you can definitely still make a nice stock. You can also use a small onion if you don’t have shallots and leeks, but I love the extra-savory richness that they give to chicken stock! I’ve played around with also adding one or two smashed cloves of garlic, but have decided I prefer my stock without. This is in part because I like to have a steaming mug of it first thing in the morning when it’s chilly out, and I’m just not ready for garlic at breakfast time. Of course, if you want some in there, go ahead and add it! You can also play around with adding a little bit of rosemary and thyme along with or instead of the parsley.