The once-lowly and maligned pressure cooker is making a comeback! This relic of your grandparents' kitchen is not only improved and safer than ever before, but it saves time, creates more flavor, and conserves energy. Cookbook author and cooking teacher, Laura Pazzaglia, wasn't thinking of all this when she tried pressure cooking for the first time. But after watching a friend make dinner in 10 minutes, Laura knew she had found the solution to her time-crunched life.
In her groundbreaking cookbook, Hip Pressure Cooking, Laura provides over 200 sure-fire recipes designed to work in all types of cookers such as the Instant Pot, electric pressure cookers, multi-cookers with pressure programs, and stove top pressure cookers. The recipes in her book were tested across multiple pressure cookers types and brands to ensure delicious results no matter what you have in your kitchen.
As pressure cooking became more popular Laura created a website (www.HipPressureCooking.com) providing home cooks with instructional videos, recipes and advice, becoming THE expert in pressure cooking.
So, what is Hip Pressure Cooking? Laura explains that "hip pressure cooking is about taking advantage of the latest pressure cooker technology and accessories, so you are able to preserve freshness and maximize the nutrients of ingredients without wasting time."
In fact, Laura loved pressure cooking so much she began offering recipes and advice on a website she created as a resource for cooks like her who wanted to learn more about using pressure cookers. At the time, pressure cooking recipes didn't emphasize aesthetics and while the food might be delicious, it was often unappealing in presentation. But Laura not only figured out how to make pressure cooked food appealing, she gained a large following for her recipes and techniques while doing it!
A culmination of Laura’s experience, Hip Pressure Cooking offers everything from tasty recipes featuring fresh ingredients to special cooking techniques perfected over the years to basic tips on operating your pressure cooker where she walks you through every step of the process. Some of her delicious recipes found in the book include:
- Corn Chowder
- Summer Rice Minestrone
- Veal-Stuffed Artichoke Halves
- Sloppy Lasagna
- Indian Veggie Pullow
- Risotto with Mixed Shellfish
- Chinese Lemon Chicken
- Moroccan Lamb Tagine
- Filipino Oxtail Stew
- Farro Risotto with Radicchio and Gorgonzola, Potato-Stuffed Onions, and Peas and Mint
- Bread Pudding with Brandy Sauce
- Blackberry Swirl Cheesecake
- Hazelnut Chocolate Pots de Crème
The secret is out?and now home cooks can discover the potential of this super appliance with Hip Pressure Cooking, the revolutionary guide to cooking with pressure! If you can boil it, steam it, or braise it, you can pressure cook it!
Try these popular and delicious recipes from Hip Pressure Cooking:
Recipe(s) reprinted with permission from
HIP PRESSURE COOKING: Fast, Fresh, and Flavorful
By Laura D. A. Pazzaglia / St. Martin’s Griffin
BBQ Pork Ribs with Spinach Bean Salad
Serves 4 to 6
The BBQ refers to the flavor, and not cooking method. Though it should fool all but your most observant guests. The slide-under-the-broiler finish gives this dish a scorch that is both beautiful and delicious!
1 onion, large dice
1 ½ cups water
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry cannellini, soaked
1 ½ pounds baby back ribs
1 cup BBQ sauce, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ pound baby spinach
Pull ribs out of the refrigerator and slice apart. Sprinkle coat with BBQ sauce and sprinkle with salt and pepper – reserve some of the BBQ sauce for after cooking. Arrange ribs in steamer basket – even standing them slightly vertically to get them to fit and set aside
In the pressure cooker, on medium heat without the lid, sauté’ onion until soft and then add the beans, bay leaf, and cannellini.
Lower the steamer basket into the pressure cooker.
Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker. Turn the heat up to high and when the cooker reaches pressure, lower to the heat to the minimum required by the cooker to maintain pressure. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes at high pressure.
When time is up, open the pressure cooker with the Natural release method - move the cooker off the burner and wait for the pressure to come down on its own (about 10 minutes). For electric pressure cookers, disengage the "keep warm" mode or unplug the cooker and begin counting 10 minutes of natural open time. Then, release the rest of the pressure using the valve.
Carefully remove the steamer basket and temporarily place it on the upturned lid of the pressure cooker loosely covered with foil. Remove and discard the bay leaf from the beans, below. Mix- into the beans the salt, garlic and baby spinach. Remove beans to a casserole using a slotted spoon. Using tongs carefully distribute ribs on top of the beans and lightly paint with the remaining barbecue sauce.
Slide the casserole under the broiler and broil for 5 to10 minutes or until the sauce on the ribs is lightly caramelized.
Three-ingredient Flan
Yields 6 custards
I developed this recipe for my in-store pressure cooker demonstrations. I wanted a flan that is delicious warm without being too fussy to make. The honey serves both a flavor and sweetener - eliminating the need for sugar and the step for infusing the milk with flavors or spices. Use a dark, flavorful honey to get the most bang of flavor. My favorite: Chestnut Honey, but any dark-colored full-flavored honey will do.
2 cups water
2 eggs, one whole, and one yolk
1/3 cup dark honey
1 cup whole milk
8 amaretto cookies (or ginger snaps), crushed into a powder
Prepare pressure cooker by adding water to the base, plus steamer basket and set aside.
In a medium bowl, or 4-cup measuring cup, whisk together the eggs and honey until well-combined. When well-combined, whisk in the milk. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into ramekins cups and cover tightly with foil. Place in the steamer basket.
Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker. Turn the heat up to high and when the cooker reaches pressure, lower to the heat to the minimum required by the cooker to maintain pressure. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes at high pressure.
When time is up, open the pressure cooker with the Natural release method - move the cooker off the burner and wait for the pressure to come down on its own (about 10 minutes). For electric pressure cookers, disengage the "keep warm" mode or unplug the cooker and begin counting 10 minutes of natural open time. Then, release the rest of the pressure using the valve.
Uncover the custards and either refrigerate or serve warm garnished with cookie crumbs.
