Cooking Under Pressure
Lorna Sass, William Morrow, 1989
In 2011, I started to explore a book that had taken the culinary profession by storm, Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold. I thought it was going to focus exclusively on new techniques and ingredients, like cooking sous vide and spherification. I was surprised to learn that Myhrvold and his team at the Cooking Lab were also interested in the traditional pressure cooker….back to the future. I started experimenting and now it is my essential tool for making stocks, soups, grain dishes, legumes and braises. I think Lorna Sass’s Cooking Under Pressure, published in 1989, is still the best reference on the topic.
Her information on technique and timing for cooking grains and legumes is invaluable. I published Sass’s chart in the first issue of the Gazette. The pressure cooker is also a great tool for braises. It is amazingly fast, producing meat and poultry that is succulent as well as fork tender.
One of my favorite recipes in Cooking Under Pressure is for Osso Buco with Gremolata. Sass recommends serving this dish with the traditional accompaniment of risotto. It’s also excellent with mashed potato.