“I eat my candy with pork and beans.
Excuse my manners if I make a scene.”
-Pork and Beans, by Weezer

I could begin this post with a rose-tinted anecdote about how, during the run-up to our wedding in Italy, as Amy and I were lingering romantically over a typically rustic Tuscan dinner one warm June evening against the background of a bucolic, rolling landscape with honey-colored buildings dotted sparingly among neat rows of vines and olives — our eyes locked together over a tablescape of starched cloth, antique silver and leaded crystal — the air, heavy with the scent of lavender and the hum of cicadas, seemed to stir momentarily, as if a gust of breeze from we knew not where had suddenly, and unintentionally, loosed itself, darkening our moods and furrowing our brows with its unwelcome interruption.

I could conclude such an anecdote in lyrical fashion thus: as the sun’s dipping parabola cast its final, limpid rays upon the radiant skin of my betrothed’s temples, she recoiled in anguish, reeling like a punch-drunk prize-fighter, at the rancid bouquet now squalling through her nostrils.

I could also proceed with a lengthy explanation of why it is that fagioli e salsiccie is the quintessential Tuscan peasant dish, having sustained generations in that part of Italy, and how it sits proudly among the best of pan-European cucina povera alongside fabada and ollo podrida.

Instead, I could just as easily explain that during said nuptials we enjoyed many of the delicious bean dishes for which Tuscany is famous and, consequently, experienced the oh-so familiar sensation of, ahem, flatulence.

These days many people are aware of the wonders of Tuscan cuisine; the saltless bread, the magnificent steaks, the peppery, fruity olive oil, the tangy Pecorino, the bread and tomato soups, as well as the widespread use of beans that has earned Tuscans the moniker “mangiafagioli” or bean-eaters. What still mystifies most people though, is if beans always give us wretched and disgusting gas, why do we continue eating them?

Before you start clicking away, tut-tutting about the sheer childishness… the puerile subject matter… they should know better, etc., you might consider the anthropological significance of the humble bean. Not only are beans among the world’s super foods, being packed with protein (containing more than twice the protein of most meats), fiber, and complex carbohydrates, the simple act of growing them fixes nitrogen to poor soils enabling land to remain fertile without requiring artificial fertilizers (meaning they are not just good for you, they are also good the Earth), but, in addition to being nutritionally complete, beans are easy to grow, and, as a result, have been (pun intended) essential to human societies since way before bread was even conceived of. Thus, the histories of the bean, the fart, and the very survival of humanity are inextricably connected.

Not that our survival this past weekend was predicated on eating beans, but as we struggled back up to our fourth floor walk-up apartment wet and cold from chilly April showers, it certainly felt that way for a few moments. The idea of the silken texture of perfectly cooked cannellini beans bathed lovingly in a tomato, garlic and bay-scented broth, and complemented by fennel or hot pepper-spiked pork sausage hung like an apparition in front of us as we stuffed our shoes with newspaper and festooned every available hanging place with damp clothes.

Sadly, we hadn’t had the foresight to soak our dried beans overnight (we only had four hours to soak them), so we tried the oft-mooted, but untested, option of using the pressure cooker to make amends. Various online sources suggested pressure-cooking them for anything between 12 and 25 minutes, neither of which we found to be nearly enough. After three abortive de-pressurizations, and a total of around 40 minutes cooking, the beans had achieved the smooth, toothsome texture we were looking for. Having browned the sausages in the pot before adding the beans, onion, garlic, bay, vegetable stock and tomato paste, all they required was an additional five minutes simmering among the beans for the dish to be ready.

Settling into our meal, we were astounded by the restorative qualities of simple pork and beans, washing the warming combo down with something red and Portuguese and in the $8 range. The following morning, we were similarly astounded by the metabolic reaction of human intestines and beans. Happily, our marriage, having begun with flatulence, and now securely founded on a mutual understanding of the universality of these kinds of things, was able to accommodate such seismic eruptions. Our day proceeded with a long walk in the park, having left our apartment, windows open, to air out.

We’ve waxed poetic about our love for our pressure cooker in We Are Never Full’s past posts.  It is one of the best pieces of kitchen equipment to have if you want that long-simmering/long braising flavor without the time to to do so. It is not used as often as it should be in the American kitchen. So if you don’t have one, before next winter, please, go buy one! We decided to bust out the PC for a twist on the traditional rogan josh (Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe as a base). This is a recession meal – but only if you have all the spices at hand. If you don’t, you’ll be spending an additional $20 on those! Lamb shanks are some of the cheapest cuts of meat – for two pounds of these beauties we paid about $6. The flavor is intense and, if cooked correctly, the meat falls right off the bone. This recipe could be made in a dutch oven and cooked for about 2 hours or you can just use little old pressure cooker to do the work for you in about 45 minutes. Lip smacking, finger lickin’ goodness.

Since I’m asking questions, have you ever been hungover (or just REALLY hungry) and wanting that food you ordered to come so badly you stare at the minutes ticking away on your clock?  Well this is what happened to me – catch me hungover and, worse yet, hungry, well, let’s just say beware.  But when you promise me my food within forty five minutes and you take over an hour to arrive with it (cold, mind you), well then you’re blackballed off my restaurant list for life!

Months later I realized how badly I was craving Thai but I REFUSED to go back to Mango to fulfill my craving.  I decided to create my own dish and here’s what I came out with. It’s my own recipe and it really turned out great.  The rice side is an adaption of a Delia Smith recipe.  This dish that takes a bit of prep time, but once you get it into the pressure cooker/slow cooker, you can just sit back and relax.  Make some extra for leftovers the next day – it really improves the next day. 

LEMONGRASS BEEF SHORTRIBS WITH THAI-INSPIRED COCONUT RICE 

For Shortribs:

• 2 lb beef shortribs
• 1 stalk lemongrass, outer leaves removed, chopped into 1-inch pieces and bruised with back of knife – reserve bottom 2 inches of the lemongrass (slice this in half)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 6 cilantro stalks/leaves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 5 cloves
• 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon stick
• 1 2-inch knob of fresh ginger, skin trimmed off
• 1 lime
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 hot chile pepper (whatever you like)
• 2-3 cups of beef or chicken stock
• cheesecloth
• 6 mushrooms, thickly sliced (Optional)

What to do:

1. Season short ribs with some salt and pepper.
2. In cheesecloth, add top part of lemongrass (remember to cut into small pieces and bruise), cloves, cinnamon stick and black peppercorns.  Tie to secure with kitchen twine.
3. Heat up your pressure cooker on medium. Saute your chopped onion.
4. In a food processor, chop your garlic, ginger, cilantro (stems and all), reserved bottom 2 inches of lemongrass and hot pepper.  Add a bit of olive oil to help chop it more.
5. Add the garlic/ginger/cilantro/pepper mixture to the pressure cooker.  Saute for another few minutes. Remove onions and garlic mixture and reserve on side.
6. Add a bit of olive oil back to the pressure cooker.  Add the meat and brown on all sides.
7. When meat has browned, add a small bit of hot stock and pick up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  When this is done, add back your onion and garlic/ginger/cilantro/pepper mixture and add enough stock to almost cover all your meat.  Give this all a bit of a stir to get the veggies well distributed in the stock.
8. Add the optional chopped mushroom and throw the spices in the cheesecloth in (make sure it’s somewhat submerged in the liquid).  Put lid on pressure cooker and cook as usual – 30-35 minutes.
9. When finished, remove meat on side and add the creamy coconut milk that rises to the top of a newly opened can (it’s much thicker than the watery-coconut milk below).  All the sauce to reduce on medium for 10 minutes.

For the rice:

• 1 cup of basmati rice
• 1 can of coconut milk + some boiling H2O
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 inch knob of fresh ginger
• 1 hot chile pepper
• 4 stalks of cilantro
• 1 shallot, minced finely
• 1 stalk lemongrass, outer leaves removed, chopped into 1-inch pieces and bruised with back of knife – reserve bottom 2 inches of the lemongrass (slice this in half)
• 5 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
• zest from one lime
• cheesecloth
• 2 teaspoon salt
• Sliced scallions for garnish

What to do:

1. In a food processor, finely chop (together) garlic, ginger, cilantro stalks and pepper.  Reserve.
2. In a piece of cheesecloth, put the cloves, cinnamon stick, some lemongrass pieces, black peppercorns and 1/2 of lime.  Secure with kitchen string.
3. Saute the shallot in some olive oil.
4. After about 1 minute, add the garlic mixture and saute for a minute.
5. Add basmati rice and toast for 30 seconds. Stir.
6. Add one can of coconut milk and the salt to the rice.  Add enough hot water so the line of liquid comes up to the width of 2 fingers above the line of rice (NOTE: Make the peace sign, then put those two fingers together. The width of the pointer and middle finger together should be used as your ‘ruler’ when pouring the liquid into your rice.  This method will always make the most perfect rice – thank you Daisy Martinez!!). Stir the rice, put the lid on, bring it to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer (still with lid on – you can peek to see if it’s boiling/simmering) for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, turn heat to low and allow to cook for an additional 10 minutes – do not take lid off. After this, turn the heat off – do not lift the lid – and allow to sit for another 10 minutes to steam.
7. When it’s finished steaming, take off lid, fluff rice with a fork. Add the lime zest, the squeeze of half a lime and check for any additional seasoning.  Top with some scallions and enjoy!

CHECK OUT SOME OTHER GREAT PRESSURE-COOKER RECIPES ON OUR BLOG:

• Wine Braised Lamb Shanks
• Korean Style Pork Ribs
• Lebanese Fatteh Blahmeh

The owners, the Abi-Najm family, had a really cute ‘coming-to-America/America the land of opportunity’ story that is often unheard of these days. They fled Lebanon on a cargo ship during the civil war with only a few belongings. In 1976, they settled in Arlington and by 1979 they bought a small pizza place called Athenian Taverna and had only enough money to replace half the sign, and the first Lebanese Taverna was born.

Warms your heart, right? Maybe makes you reconsider your opinions on the current immigration policy, huh? Maybe it’s just me?

Anyways, that night I ate the most delicious and different meal. The dish was called Fatteh Djaje – seasoned, shredded chicken with crispy pita bread, smothered in a yogurt sauce and (my favorite part) sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. Every time I visited Shannon, I asked if we could go to Lebanese Taverna so I could satisfy my craving.

After the second time dining there, I knew I had to try to find a recipe to recreate the dish. This was 1999 and the internet was shockingly different than it is today. After much searching, I found something that slightly resembled it, but I knew I would have to get creative and figure it out based on my memory of the dish at the restaurant.

To this day, the Lebanese Taverna’s menu includes Fatteh Djaje (with chicken) and Fatteh Blahmeh (with lamb). Here is how the Fatteh Blahmeh is described on their menu:

Pretty great description for a pretty amazing meal. I know many of you may be scared of this recipe, but if you try it once, I guarantee you’ll be hooked. Since 1999 (and one marriage to an Englishman later), I’ve grown to love lamb and eat a decent amount of it, so this recipe will be the lamb version. Feel free to substitute the lamb for chicken if you’re not a lamb eater. If you like the taste of Moroccan spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, etc.), you’ll love this meal.

LEBANESE SPICED LAMB OVER CRISPY PITA SMOTHERED WITH A GARLIC-YOGURT POMEGRANATE SAUCE (FATTEH BLAHMEH)

For the Lamb

• 3 lbs lamb for stew (small bits still on the bone)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 two to three inch stick of cinnamon
• 5 cloves
• 1/2 of nutmeg (or about 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg if you must)
• 2-3 cups of chicken stock
• pinch of salt
• 1 can of chickpeas

For the Yogurt Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt, strained
• 2 cloves of garlic, mashed into a paste
• some mint leaves, roughly chopped
• a squeeze of lemon (Optional: zest of half of lemon)

Garnish and Bottom Layer:

• 3-4 pita bread, sliced through the middle (so they are thin), cut into triangles and toasted till crispy
• 1/4 cup of toasted pine-nuts
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds (if seasonally available)
• some roughly chopped mint

What to do:

1. Season your lamb with some kosher salt, a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon. Heat up a small bit of olive oil in your pressure cooker. Over medium heat, sear your lamb until brown – about 1 1/2 minutes per side. ***NOTE: You could also slow cook the lamb in your slow cooker for 5-6 hours during the work day and still get that wonderful, falling-off-the-bone thing.
2. Add your onions and garlic to the pressure cooker and using the leftover oil, saute briefly, stirring around the meat to make some room for the onions/garlic to cook.
3. Make a bouquet garni (if you have cheesecloth or do what I did in a bind tonight – get a misfit (CLEAN!!) sock, cut it, wrap your spices in it and tie with kitchen twine) with the cinnamon stick, nutmeg half and cloves.
4. After another 30 seconds or so, add your stock. Throw in your bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and follow your pressure cooker directions. Cook in pressure for 30-35 minutes.
5. While that’s cooking, mix your strained yogurt with the garlic paste, chopped mint, squeeze of lemon and lemon zest. Stir and let sit so the flavors meld.
6. Slice your pita and toast in the oven for about 4-5 minutes at 385 degrees till crispy. (OPTIONAL: Traditionally, the pita should be fried in butter for a more intense taste).
7. If you have a pomegranate, slice in half and remove seeds. It’s easier to submerge it in water and take seeds out that way – the little bits of sinew will separate from the seeds more easily. Strain so you just have the seeds.
8. When lamb is finished cooking in the pressure cooker/slowcooker, using tongs, remove lamb only out of the sauce and put in bowl. Allow to cool for a few moments.
9. Meanwhile, turn heat on medium to reduce the sauce just a bit more – about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add the drained chickpeas and let simmer for another 3-4 minutes.
10. With two forks (or your fingers!), remove the bones from the lamb meat and shred the lamb meat. It should be super tender and fall off the bone easily.
11. Assemble your dish. Put 4-5 toasted/fried pita triangles on the bottom of your dish. Using a large spoon, spoon some chickpeas with sauce over the crispy pita bread. You want a decent layer of chickpeas. Next, top the chickpeas with some shredded lamb. Finally, add a layer of yogurt and top with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts and chopped mint. Dig in!

CHECK OUT SOME OTHER PRESSURE COOKER RECIPES:

• WINE-BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH ROSEMARY AND THYME IN PRESSURE COOKER
• LEMONGRASS BEEF SHORTRIBS
• KOREAN-STYLE PORK RIBS IN PRESSURE COOKER

***Just noticed the lovely chip in our expensive Target plate that you’ll often see on this blog showcasing our creations. Nuthin’ but the best for our readers!!***

Thanks to We Are Never Full reader/commenter Valerie (see Under Pressure), we decided to check out Epicurious.com’s recipe for Asian Beef Short Ribs. This inspired me to use our pressure cooker again, using the Epicurious recipe as a backbone for our own creation using Pork Ribs. Months ago we ate in Little Korea in NYC (YUM! That’s a whole other post!) and after our gut-busting meal, shopped at a local Korean market where we picked up a beef marinade. Although it’s not necessary to use for our recipe, I think it added a little bit more body (and maybe saltiness?) to the dish. The end result was a very rich and satisfying meal. If your butcher can’t cut up your pork ribs to 2-2.5 inch pieces, hopefully you have a super sharp knife/cleaver to try out your hacking skills! I hacked my own up – it gave me a real burst of adreneline and helped me get out some aggression! Also, remember to hack up your ribs BEFORE you marinate them. I was an idiot and looked like I honestly hacked something to death with all the marinade splattered on my shirt!

KOREAN-STYLE PORK RIBS WITH BOK CHOI

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lb. pork spare ribs, chopped into 3 inch pieces (use cleaver, sharp knife or ask your butcher to cut it for you)
• 1 cup of korean kalbi marinade (could substitute w/hoison sauce with a bit of soy sauce mixed in)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 cup beef or chicken broth (or a mix of both) – low sodium so you can measure the level of salt in the dish (there’s alot!)
• 3 tablespoons soy
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 red chiles, chopped, seeds and all
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 inch piece of ginger, chopped
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced for garnish

What to do:

1. Marinate your pork rib pieces for a few hours (if you have time) in the Korean BBQ marinade or the hoison sauce.
2. Heat up pressure cooker and add a bit of olive oil on medium-high heat. Add pieces of pork ribs and brown on all sides. Remove ribs and reserve on the side.
3. Deglaze the bottom of the pressure cooker with your stock. Make sure you pick up all the browned bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon!
4. Add back your ribs and ALL the other ingredients (including any extra Korean Kalbi/hoison sauce that was used for the marinade.
5. Cook in your pressure cooker for 30 minutes. Remove lid and reduce sauce even more, simmering for about 20-30 minutes. Add some cornstarch to thicken if necessary.
6. Serve with white rice/stick rice and some bok choi sauteed with garlic, chiles a bit of soy and a bit of sesame oil. Sprinkle thin slices of scallion on top and enjoy!

Super easy! The added potatoes and carrots make for a really hearty sauce. You’ll love how the pork falls off the bone. Thanks, Valerie for the inspiration! Happy Columbus Day!

CHECK OUT SOME OTHER POSTS YOU MAY ENJOY:

•  WINE-BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH ROSEMARY AND THYME IN PRESSURE COOKER
• LEBANESE-SPICED LAMB OVER CRISPY PITA WITH CHICKPEAS, PINENUTS, POMEGRANATE SEEDS SMOTHERED IN GARLIC YOGURT SAUCE
• LEMONGRASS BEEF SHORTRIBS

So maligned are pressure-cookers that it seems almost sacrilegious of a food blog like this, that likes to extol the virtues of fresh ingredients and traditional cooking methods, to even consider adding a recipe that calls for using one. Undaunted, here we are flaunting convention and defying the culinary thought-police once more with a recipe for red wine and herb braised lamb shanks made in our brand spanking new pressure-cooker. Of course, this is but an exaggeration. We’re perfectly happy to try almost any food and any cooking method, and since we’d got given a pressure-cooker for a wedding present, and yesterday was the first autumnal feeling day of the year, we thought, why not give it a try?

Pressure-cookers got their bad name originally for two principal reason. Firstly, they were fundamentally quite dangerous contraptions that were liable to explode and inflict either physical injury by launching scalding lumps of food at those in the kitchen, or enduring damage to your kitchen decor, or both. And secondly, because they tended to stew food, boil out it’s goodness and turn everything to mush. However, advances in design and therefore safety mean that modern pressure-cookers are regaining popularity for their astounding ability to cook dishes that normally take several hours, within forty minutes, while preserving the food’s goodness.

We were first put on to the beauty and convenience of the pressure-cooker by the humble, and vastly underrated, Jacques Pepin. On more than one episode of Fast Food, My Way, Monsieur Pepin gets out his trusty pressure cooker and makes a delicious braised dish (beef, mushrooms and pearl onions, from memory) in about half an hour, while describing how he was inspired by his mother who used to use her pressure cooker on weekday evenings to create a hearty family meal in under an hour. Apparently, Maman Pepin would chop the vegetables and meat while still in her coat, and then slap the lid on the pressure-cooker, while she did various other household chores, and while we used our pressure-cooker for the first time last night (a Sunday) we can definitely see how using it on a weekday meal in the winter would work extremely well.

Here’s the recipe for the dish we made, but there are probably hundreds of different things you could make, all of them inside forty minutes. Next time, we’re going to make lamb rogan josh curry.

Check out some of our other pressure-cooker recipes: Lemongrass Beef Shortribs, Korean Style Pork Ribs and Lebanese Fatteh Blahmeh.

Wine-Braised Lamb Shanks with Rosemary and Thyme in the Pressure-Cooker

1 1/2 – 2lbs lamb shanks (probably 2 shanks)
1 spanish onion, roughly diced
3-6 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, roughly diced
1/2 lb mushrooms (whichever kind you like) quartered, halved or whole depending on size
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
7-10 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 bottle red wine (whatever you like drinking)
1pt chicken or vegetable stock
3 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp flour
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper

1. add a couple of good pinches of salt and pepper to the flour in a bowl and dredge lamb shanks until lightly coated.
2. add half the oil to pressure cooker at medium-high heat and brown lamb until colored well on all sides. Remove and set aside.
3. reduce heat to medium and add onion, carrot and mushrooms to pot and remaining oil. sautee until onions go opaque and carrots soften a bit and get sugary. add garlic and sautee for three more minutes.
4. add herbs and the lamb shanks back to the pot. turn heat back to high and add wine and about 3/4 of the stock.
5. bring liquid to a boil then place lid on pressure cooker. keep heat turned to high until pressure monitor shows maximum pressure has been reached, then follow manufacturer’s directions for keeping pressure at the right level for the right amount of time. On our model, I turned the heat to medium, and cooked it for 35 minutes.
6. release pressure and stand back until steam clears.
7. season to taste before plating, but be careful! I burned the sh!t out of my mouth tasting the sauce
8. Enjoy.

I served the lamb with a smoked provolone, cream and parsley polenta and wilted broccoli di rape, and it worked very well indeed. It’s worth noting that the whole thing tasted much better the following day, as is often the case with sauces – they improve until finally they go off.

Do any of you have good pressure-cooker recipes? And, if so, are you brave enough to come out and say that you too appreciate the noble pressure-cooker for what it is – a much-maligned invention of genius? Well, come on then, let’s have them!