Mole Chicken Chili (PCP)

• 3 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons chili powder [of course I added substantially more of the spicier stuff up front and then later]
• 2 tablespoons cocoa [Hmm, simple ingredient.  Apparently only available at convetional supermarkets as a store brand product.]
• 2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
•  2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup raisins [Didn't have raisins.  Figured currants would work approximately well.  Now I have neither.]
• 1/4 cup peanut butter [Really?]
• 4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed, trimmed
• Salt and pepper
• 1 onion, halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro [Cilantro went bad by the time I got around to cooking this.]

Sauce mise en place.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat until shimmering.  Add chili powder, cocoa, garlic, chipotle, cinnamon and cloves and cook until fragrant.

Stir in broth, tomatoes, raisins, and peanut butter, scraping up any fond.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Puree in blender until smooth.

Mise en place.

Skinning and trimming the chicken thighs.

Stir in sauce and add chicken to pot.  Bring to high pressure and cook for 25 minutes.  Quick release pressure cooker.

Grease slick.

 

Yeah, it's amazing what you can do with a pressure cooker, but this was kind of the flattest mole I've ever had which all the inauthentic ingredients and shortcuts.  Maybe some day I'll adapt a proper mole recipe to be cooked in a pressure cooker, but we'll see.

It's a fine dish overall if you don't have much experience with the cuisine.

15-Bean Soup with Sausage (PCP)

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 12 ounce hot or sweet Italian sausage
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 10 ounces (1 1/2 cups) 15-bean soup mix, flaring packed discarded, picked over, rinsed, and salt-soaked [Soaking overnight is generally recommended for cooking beans though I have never bothered to before.  However, it is very important to do so while using a pressure cooker as this helps reduce foaming that can clog the cooker.]
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 ounces Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped
•  1 large tomato, cored and chopped
• Salt and pepper

Mise en place.

Brown sausage in oil over medium-high heat.

Set aside and cook onion and carrot until softened.

Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant.

Stir in broth, soaked beans, and bay leaves, scraping up fond.  Add sausage and any accumulated juices.

Bring to high pressure and cook for 25 minutes.

Transfer sausage to cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch slice.  Meanwhile, bring soup to simmer, stir in chard and tomato, and cook until chard is tender.  Add back sausage and season with salt and pepper.

I'm pretty sure this was my first pressure cooker dish.  Mindblowing how beans can get to such a perfect consistency and the soup is so richly flavored with such a short ingredient list.  I've become officially a believer of pressure cookers.

Old-Fashioned Beef and Vegetable Soup (PCP)

• 1 pound boneless beef short ribs, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1 pound red potatoes, cut into 3/4 pieces
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Yet another occasion where something didn't really translate from ingredients list to grocery list.  All these carrots and a few parsnips are supposed to stand in for potatoes and celery ribs.

No, it didn't really work.

Mise en place.  I think I have already browned the short ribs since there's no picture of me browning them?

Heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat.  Add mushrooms and onion and cook until softened.

Stir in tomato paste, thyme, and garlic.  Cook until fragrant.

Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.

Whisk in wine, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps, and cook until slightly reduced, about 1 minute.

Stir in broth, carrots, all the vegetables I didn't have, bay leaves, and beef.  Bring to high pressure for 15 minutes and naturally release pressure.

 

I guess beef soup isn't really supposed to be a meal unto itself.  Particularly when a recipe or execution of one like this lacks much variety of vegetables.  I think I rather eat a beef stew instead.

However, I used Better than Bullion for the broth and it worked fine.  Amazing to have perfectly tender short ribs in such a short period of time.