Building Your Plant Based Kitchen – Pressure Cooker

I’ve been cooking family dinners a long time, like since I was ten years old and until a year ago pressure cookers were a mystical tool that definitely seemed out of my league. Because I now know that we need to get curious and comfortable with what scares us, especially regarding our passions, I took a closer look.  Of course my German mother-in-law, who runs THE most efficient kitchen I have ever seen, was a master with her pressure cooker. I always found myself wincing each time she released the pressure, steam pouring out of the spout, waiting for an explosion. After years of clearly seeing that no one actually was injured in the process, I stepped up my game and began practicing with hers. I was shocked to find how easy it actually was to use and how much time it shaved off of meal preparation.

Two summers ago I imported my very own shiny WMF Pressure cooker in my suitcase, only to discover I could have easily purchased the same model on Amazon. Lesson learned. That aside my pressure cooker soon took center stage in my kitchen and hasn’t been demoted from it’s best supporting tool role since. I use mine for all varieties of lentils, beans, grains, and every soup and sauce I cook. The learning curve wasn’t at all steep and the results have always been spot on.

Want to learn more about pressure cooking? The Kitchn offers this useful guide to pressure cooking resources.

Ready for a test drive? May I recommend this luscious African Yellow Split Pea Soup.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive, grapeseed, or safflower oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 poblano or hatch chili peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated or minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon Harissa powder (more to taste–it’s spicy, so feel free to add extra if you like heat!)
½ teaspoon turmeric
¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 lb sweet skinned and roughly chopped garnet yams or sweet potatoes (about 3½-4 cups)
1¼ cups yellow split peas, picked over to remove any grit (I presoak mine overnight)
6 cups water or low sodium vegetable broth
½ cup almond or coconut milk (I do not recommend light coconut milk or soy)
black pepper
⅓ cup chopped green onion tops or cilantro (for garnish)

Full Instructions Here.

Enjoy!