Experienced cook, Le Cordon Bleu graduate and magazine editor Suzanne Gibbs shows how to use a pressure cooker to create tasty, flavourful meals. The Pressure Cooker Recipe Book (Penguin, 2009) is a guide for time-poor home cooks, offering a range of savoury and sweet recipes that can be prepared in a short time with delicious results.
The Pressure Cooker Recipe Book
After a mishap on a family holiday in her youth, Gibbs avoided using pressure cookers for many years. Once she overcame her hesitation, she was converted to this practical, economical form of cooking and her enthusiasm for the versatility of pressure cookers demonstrates just how completely she has embraced this method of cooking.
An introduction provides information on how a pressure cooker works, what foods can be used in a pressure cooker, a brief troubleshooting guide and information on different features of stove-top pressure cookers. Information on pressure cooker models refers only to second-generation stove-top models, but the recipes can easily be used for any type of pressure cooker including electrical appliances.
Recipes are divided into seven sections:
- Nibbles and light meals
- Stocks and soups
- Vegetables
- Grains and pulses
- One-pot dinners
- Braises and casseroles
- Desserts
Recipes include dishes suitable for everyday family meals and entertaining. There are family favourites such as split pea and ham soup, several risotto variation, Spanish chicken and rice and braised lamb shanks. Pressure cooker desserts include lemon delicious and bread and butter pudding.
Some dishes require additional inserts for the pressure cooker including ramekins, cake tins or bowls, all of which require a trivet for safe use. Each recipe features a clear list of ingredients and instructions with additional advice on possible variations and food preparation tips. Recipes are accompanied by a full page colour photograph.
The recipes are easy to follow and feature accessible ingredients. Although targeting Australian home cooks,The Pressure Cooker Recipe Book would no doubt be equally helpful to anyone looking for a practical, family-friendly pressure cooker cookbook.
Cookbook Author Suzanne Gibbs
With more than 30 years experience since graduating from Le Cordon Bleu School of Cookery, London, Suzanne Gibbs has authored or co-authored books with sales of more than 500, 000 copies.
Daughter of Australian home cooking legend Margaret Fulton, Gibbs is currently Food Director of the newly launched BBC Good Food Australia magazine.
Using a Pressure Cooker for Family Meals
Pressure cookers are ideal for busy modern lifestyles, with many meals easily prepared in a small fraction of the time taken for standard cooking methods.
The Pressure Cooker Recipe Book is particularly useful for beginner pressure cooker users looking for a selection of recipes to develop their skills. From basic side dishes such as pressure-roasted potatoes to more involved dishes such as terrine/pate maison, this cookbook is a fantastic guide to getting the most from a pressure cooker.
Review copy details
The Pressure Cooker Recipe Book (ISBN: 978-0-670-07318-4, 185 pages)
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