Musings on the uses of an Instant Pot

[technocracygirl]

I got the family an Instant Pot for Channukah. And I've been trying to use it, so as to justify its existance. Also, it is winter, a time for low-and-slow foods. This has meant gathering some Instant Pot cookbooks from my local library. (I am very far back from the one by the Cook's Illustrated crew, Multicooker Perfection, but I will wait, because I trust those folks.)

Anyway, I am going through a bunch of IP cookbooks, and twice now, I have come across a green bean recipe. It is listed as Italian. And I look at it. And I snicker.

Because this is the Sephardic recipe for Vegetables. (And Some Meats.)

What is the Sephardic recipe for Vegetables (And Some Meats), you may ask?

1) Add oil to a pot. No, more. Where are you from, a place that is scared of oil? (My husband always complained that I used too much oil when sauteing. Then we got a cookbook that has all of the old family recipes. Now he still complains, but he knows why I do it.)

2)Add a chopped onion and saute until soft.

3) Add a can of chopped tomatoes, the Vegetable (Or Meat), some salt, and some pepper.

4)Add water until everything is covered.

5)Simmer on the stovetop and get the rest of the meal finished.

What you get out of this recipe is the same thing you will get out of these IP recipes. Except with the IP, you have more work to do, and more cleanup.

It's just really amusing to me to see people use their IPs for things that are simpler to do on the stovetop.

Comments

People got different needs

[flamingsword]

If you are the sort of person who has enough energy to stand up in the kitchen for half an hour and cook, then I am glad for you. If you have the kind of working memory that does not let meals become burned messes by forgetting to stir them, I am similarly glad.

I am not either of those people, so I use assistive technology to cook for me. I am the original target market for things like this, as are students who live in dorms where you are not allowed to have stoves but can have rice cookers and instant pots.

I highly recommend checking pinterest for instant pot recipes. They are a popular clearinghouse for recipes of all kinds.

Re: People got different needs

[technocracygirl]

You are correct. I did not consider all the different reasons why someone would hhave an IP.

I have been amused by the Sephardic Recipe for Vegetables (and Some Meats) for a while, and seeing it in multiple IP cookbooks amused me and brought back the realization of discovering it. (No cookbook calls it a recipe. It's finding that recipe for green beans, and then seeing the exact same thing for okra, and peppers, and squash, (and etc.), and then finding it for some low-and-slow cut of meat that made be put it together.)

Thank you for the Pinterest recommendation. If I ever use Pinterest, I will check it out.