From my kitchen: Under pressure

I have always wanted to have a pressure cooker, but, living in a small apartment, I did not have enough storage space to keep the big monster (see note on size below). Now that I have moved to a nice biggish house, I took the plunge and bought one. And I could not be happier with it! I highly recommend anyone who likes good food to have one.

There are three great advantages of cooking with one of these:

• Time: food takes about one third of the time to cook. Pressure cookers are particularly useful to cook food that needs a lot of time to cook. For example, beans, beef brisket, lamb and any other meat stew. I could had another advantage here: money. Cooking for one third of the time also uses less energy, saving you money. And, now that I think about it, there is a third advantage: if it saves energy, it is good for the environment. That's tree advantages in one.
• Health: you could in principle use your cooker to fry, just do not put the lid on, please! But that is not what you are supposed to use it for. The pressure cooker is most suitable for lovely healthy food preparation, like soups, beans, and stews. Having one and using it regularly is a good way to improve your diet.
• Flavour: the first time I used my pressure cooker, I could not believe my taste buds! It is a fact, that I knew not, that cooking under pressure preserves the flavour of the ingredients better. The result, food that is a lot more delicious.

The latter is what makes me use my pressure cooker even for food that cooks really quick, like certain boiled or steamed vegetables.

Note on size below: because a pressure cooker should not be filled up to more than a half or two thirds (depending on what you are cooking), always buy a big model. Five litres minimum.

To finish, here is the recipe for the best soup I ever cooked:

Not for vegans vegetable soup

3 average onions
Lots of garlic
3 large carrots
3 big potatoes
2 large courgettes
1 teaspoon of herbs mix (thyme, oregano, marjoram, rosemary and sage)
Salt
1 packet of sliced kale (160g)
Approx. 3 cm of chorizo, sliced
Olive oil

In a pressure cooker, add a cup of water, the kale and chorizo. Cook on high for 10min. In the meantime, prepare the other ingredients by peeling and cutting in relatively big chunks the onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes and courgettes (no need to peel the latter). When the kale and chorizo are done, release the steam and, after opening the cooker lid, remove the contents and set them aside.

Add all of the other ingredients, except the olive oil, to the empty pressure cooker with 2 cups water. Cook for 15min on high. When ready, release the steam and open the lid. Use a hand blender to thoroughly mash the contents of the cooker. Finally, add the olive oil and the chorizo and kale with their water and mix well. If the soup is too thick, add more water to thin.

Are you a vegan? Vegetarian? If so, delete any mention of chorizo in the above recipe and enjoy.

Final note: follow your pressure cooker instructions. In particular, they should explain what you should do to "cook on high" and "release the steam".