Stew

A pressure cooker turns what would normally be a long afternoon project into a 45-minute meal. Chunks of lamb get browned first to build a fond on the bottom of the pot, then everything goes in together and cooks under pressure for just 15 minutes. That’s all it takes for the meat to turn fork-tender.

The ingredient list is short and old-fashioned: potatoes, carrots, onions, a bay leaf, and water. No tomatoes, no wine, no fancy stock. This is the kind of stew your grandmother made when she wanted dinner on the table fast and had whatever was in the root cellar.

After the pressure drops, the juices left in the pot become a quick gravy. A slurry of flour and water stirred in and cooked for a minute or two thickens everything into a proper, spoon-coating sauce.

Chef Tips

• Brown the meat in batches so it sears instead of steams. Crowding the pot gives you gray, boiled meat.
• Cut the vegetables into large, uniform chunks. Smaller pieces will fall apart under pressure.
• Let the flour slurry cook for at least two minutes after adding it. Raw flour tastes pasty and starchy.
• Don’t forget to pull out the bay leaf before serving. Biting into one is never pleasant.

Variations

• Use beef chuck instead of lamb for a more classic American-style stew.
• Add turnips or parsnips alongside the potatoes for a more rustic root vegetable mix.
• Stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste when browning the meat for deeper color and a hint of acidity.