Vegan Pressure Cooking, Revised and Expanded: More than 100 Delicious Grain, Bean, and One-Pot Recipes Using a Traditional or Electric Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot®

With all the discussions about the benefits of pressure cookers for preparing beans and grains, I was excited to read and cook from Vegan Pressure Cooking – especially since the revised, expanded edition includes special instructions for Instant Pots!

There are some helpful, basic tips on pressure cooking in general, adjustments for various types, and plethora of full-page, color photos of the finished dishes – for roughly half of all recipes.  There’s a serious emphasis on beans and grains – which is where pressure cookers really shine. Sometimes, for green and other non-starchy vegetables, the set-up, pressure-raising and releasing takes longer than simply plopping a pot on the stove (or using the microwave).

I am an Instant Pot fan, but its size encourages tucking it away in the pantry.  Out of sight; out of mind. I was counting on this book re-energizing that appliance. And it certainly did.  As a result, the IP is still on the counter after a positive week of trying some of JL Fields’ recipes. I skipped the green beans as not logical for an IP and headed toward the beans and grains.

The first recipe was “Lentil, Kale and Barley Risotto.” Two cups of cooked lentils were defrosting in the fridge and kale and jalapenos were in the hydrator - so it was a perfect choice. The recipe worked exactly as described and was delicious – but three of us ate most of it (and the servings listed are 6-8).  Next time, I would be less judicious with the jalapeno (the heat was barely detectable) and add the baked tofu as the author suggested (or perhaps a sliced vegan sausage or two) which might stretch it to the suggested servings. The photo was a very tight close-up so it was hard to tell if my effort looked like the author’s.   

“Chickpea Hummus” was next. Homemade hummus is a staple in our house – but more often than not from cans. A quick, delicious version from dried beans would be welcome.  The chickpeas were soaked for 24 hours and then sat, drained, in the fridge for a day. I subbed the white part of leeks for the onion (that’s what I had) and reduced the garlic by half (since aggressive garlic is not loved by all in this house). There were two problems – the 15 minutes under high pressure with natural release was not nearly long enough in an IP (I let it gurgle on saute for another 20 minutes). And the flavor was bland – particularly surprising because onion is not traditional. Perhaps adding cumin, or maybe more lemon.  Next time, I will try high pressure for 20-25 minutes (after all, preserving the shape of the chickpea is not relevant for hummus), use a real onion and up the garlic a little to the suggested quantity (and add cumin).

The next choice was “Lemon Green Bean Risotto.” Except for the color of the dish, this was a success. Perhaps the stock was too dark giving the final product an unappealing brownish tinge. Other than that, it was creamy and hands-free – pretty amazing for risotto. I will definitely try this again with a lighter colored stock.

For photos displaying the result of these efforts, visit travegans.com

Great recipes

Well I’ve had my pressure cooker for about 20 years, no idea when I last used it, but I was only to steam vegetables, not once did I make a complete dish. What a waste, it holds so much potential. Saving time and dirty dishes. So easy. The recipes that I tried were tasty and quick and easy to prepare and cook. I’m not vegan, but I have been a vegetarian for 25 years, my family eat meat, but are all happy to eat vegetarian or vegan on occasion. All the instructions were clear and concise, including those for the use of a pressure cooker (I have no idea where my instructions are so having pressure cooker information as well as recipes was a real bonus). I can’t wait to experiment with more recipes. My favourite so far are the one pot recipes. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest review.