My Kitchen Clatter

teaching and sharing whole foods

Cauliflower & Quinoa Pilaf for the Instant Pot

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For starters, today I want to give a shout out to all those bloggers who are able to take Instagram worthy food photos. It is all I can do to grab the cell phone and snap a photo of my creations while my kids are screaming for dinner in the background. I’m trying to keep it real here – with quinoa on the lip of the pressure cooker, no fancy backdrops, and whatever.

Anyway… on to the recipe. I started with a pilaf recipe from The Instant Pot Bible by Bruce Weinstein, and then adapted it to what I had on hand in the house. The final recipe is much simpler than the original. And isn’t that what cooking is all about?

The original recipe caught my eye because it contained quinoa, which is super healthy and super quick to cook, especially under pressure. One of the things my family does during dinner is talk about the nutritional benefits of the foods we are eating. I find quinoa especially interesting since it is one of the few plant based proteins that contains all nine of the essential amino acids that are commonly found in meats. It is also a great source of manganese, phosphorus and fiber.

A couple quick recipe notes:

  • Be sure to rinse your quinoa before cooking it. You may be able to save yourself this step if your quinoa is pre-rinsed – check the bag to find out.
  • I used homemade vegetable broth. It is so much tastier than the stuff I find at the store and worth the extra trouble, in my opinion. One of these days, I will try to post a recipe for vegetable broth on this site, but in the meantime, a good pressure cooker book should get you started. Or try this recipe over at Hip Pressure Cooking for Vegetable Broth.
  • To make this recipe super easy and quick, I used frozen, riced cauliflower. If you have fresh cauliflower, break it into small pieces, and increase the cooking time to 6 minutes.

 

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Cauliflower & Quinoa Pilaf
Author: 
Recipe type: side dish, pressure cooker, vegetable
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • 2 T butter
  • 1 cup of chopped onion (can substitute with shallots or leeks)
  • 1 t chopped garlic
  • 1 t cumin seeds
  • ½ t dried ginger powder
  • 1 cup of rinsed quinoa
  • 1, 16 oz package of fresh or frozen cauliflower rice
  • 2 cups of vegetable stock
Instructions
  1. Preheat the base of your pressure cooker using the sauté setting.
  2. Sauté the onion in the butter for 2-3 minutes until it is soft, but not browned.
  3. Add the garlic, cumin seeds and ginger powder and sauté briefly (about 10-30 seconds) until you can smell the spices.
  4. Turn off the heat on the pressure cooker.
  5. Add the quinoa, cauliflower and stock. Stir to combine.
  6. Lock on the lid of the pressure cooker and set the cook time for 1 minute on high pressure. Double check that the pressure valve is closed. Turn off the "keep warm" setting, if your machine has one.
  7. Once the cooking has completed, release the pressure using a quick release method.
  8. Fluff the pilaf and serve.

 

Easy Mini Chocolate Lava Cake in the Pressure Cooker

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This is a take on one of my favorite chocolate cakes. I’ve modified it to make individual cakes using my pressure cooker. I’ve also made this recipe as easy as possible to make – we often make it in my pressure cooking classes and I don’t like to unnecessarily complicate things during those classes!

The first thing you’ll want to do is find small jars or ramekins for baking the cakes. I use 4 ounce Ball glass jelly jars for making this recipe. I find that size is just about the right size for individual cakes in our house. You are welcome to use larger jars or ramekins – just adjust the cooking time up 2-3 minutes if you are using larger containers.

I typically make this in my 8 quart stovetop cooker, because I can easily fit eight small 4-ounce jars in this cooker. Once you make a layer of jars on the bottom of the cooker, you can stack a second layer on top of those. Stack the jars so they are slightly off-set from each other, kind of like if you were staking a solo cup tower. Depending on the size of your electric cooker, the second layer can be harder to fit – in that case, just cook them in two batches.

Also, I use chocolate chips in this recipe as the chocolate. I don’t use anything fancy for the chocolate – I use whatever is around the house, which is typically Kirkland brand chips. They end up tasting pretty darn good. I also think that the espresso powder that I use helps to intensify the chocolate flavor. I get mine from King Arthur Flour and I use the tiniest bit so my kids can’t taste the coffee –  a little of this special ingredient goes a long way. Feel free to leave the expresso powder out, if you don’t have it.

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Easy Mini Chocolate Lava Cake in the Pressure Cooker
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
This is a super quick and easy chocolate dessert in the pressure cooker.
Ingredients
  • ½ cup butter
  • 4 ounces chocolate chips
  • 1½ cup confectioners sugar
  • 2 eggs at room temperature
  • 3 egg yolks at room temperature
  • ½ t instant coffee granules or espresso powder
  • 1 t vanilla
  • ½ cup (2 ounces) flour - white or finely ground whole wheat pastry flour)
  • ¼ t salt
  • whipped cream or ice cream for serving (optional)
Instructions
  1. Butter or oil 8, 4 ounce ramekins or jars.
  2. Chop up butter and melt with chocolate chips in the microwave. Cook for 30 seconds, stir, add 30 seconds and stir again. Be sure to stir - the chips don't just melt and tell you they are melted. Let this mixture cool a bit to room temperature.
  3. Using a wooden spoon, stir confectioners sugar into melted chocolate.
  4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolks together.
  5. Stir eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, coffee granules into the chocolate.
  6. Using a wooden spoon, add flour and salt to the chocolate mixture, stirring until combined.
  7. Divide the batter evenly between the ramekins. Don't overfill, because they will puff up a bit during baking.
  8. Put one cup of water and a steamer rack in your pressure cooker. Stack the ramekins in the pressure cooker. Use two layers, if necessary.
  9. Follow your pressure cooker's instructions and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes. Turn off the keep warm setting. Allow to natural release for 5-10 minutes, depending on how gooey you like the center.
  10. After the natural release period, release remaining pressure using the quick release method and serve warm. These are great with whipped cream or a little ice cream.
  11. If not serving right away, you can set the lid back on the cooker after releasing pressure and they will stay warm for about 30-45 minutes.

 

 

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