Quick Phố

We had a long late-summer with beautiful sunny days and warm temperatures. Then it stopped. It always surprises me when temperatures drop so quickly, it’s never a slow incremental decrease, it’s a fast dive to freezing! As soon as the boiler goes on, soups get onto my menu plan. I first saw this beauty on my long-time Chicago friend John’s delicious blog and I’ve been making my rendition ever since. It’s definitely one of my favourites. In our house, it has actually taken over from restaurant Phố as restaurant Phố is far too salty and we’re all trying to cut down.

I start the stock in the morning so the aromatics have time to infuse. You can do it in the Instant Pot pressure cooking function but I like to have the warm aromas wafting through the house as the broth infuses. I usually double the batch of stock and freeze it for an even quicker meal.

An aromatic soup, flavoured with fresh herbs from the garden.

Serves 2 hearty bowls

Ingredients for the stock:

• 2 g fresh ginger, finely minced with a microplane
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 whole cloves
• 250 mL beef broth
• 250 mL chicken stock
• 250 mL water
• salt, to taste

Ingredients for the finished soup:

• 150 g fettuccini rice noodles
• 200 g very thinly sliced raw beef
• fresh cilantro, Thai basil, spring onions for garnish, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• Hoisin sauce, Sriracha sauce

Directions:

1. Combine the ingredients for the stock in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 3-4 hours. Alternatively, you may add it to your Instant Pot and pressure cook it for 30 minutes.
2. About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, bring a pot of water to a boil and remove it from the heat. Add the rice noodles and allow to soak to soften 10-15 minutes.
3. Strain the stock to remove the aromatics and return to the pot to keep warm.
4. Strain the noodles and divide them into two large bowls, top with the thinly sliced beef and ladle the boiling soup over the beef. Garnish with fresh cilantro, Thai basil and spring onions. Serve the hoisin and sriracha sauce at the table to allow each person to garnish their own bowls.

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Instant Pot Greek Chicken

One of the reasons I had wanted an Instant Pot was to get rid of a few of my small appliances like the slow cooker, air fryer, and rice maker! This recipe uses the instant pot for the rice as well as the chicken. To cook the rice, please see the notes below.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 200 g chicken Breast, skinless, boneless
• 30 g Greek yogurt, divided
• 15 mL roasted garlic purée
• 2 g oregano
• 5 g flour
• Zest of 1/2 a lemon
• 15 mL olive oil
• 15 g butter
• 50 g sweet onion, finely diced
• 125 mL water
• 30 mL cooking Sherry
• 1/2 a sun-dried tomato, cut into small pieces
• 5 black olives, sliced
• 1 artichoke heart, chopped
• Parsley, for garnish
• Rice for serving, see notes for IP cooking Rice

Directions:

1. Combine the yogurt, the roasted garlic, oregano and salt and mix well. Spread half of the marinade over the chicken reserving the extra and refrigerate while prepping.
2. Heat the olive oil & butter on the “Sauté” setting and cook the onions until translucent. Brown the chicken on both sides. Turn off the “Sauté” setting and add the chicken stock with the cooking sherry and the sun-dried tomatoes to release the fond. Put on the Pressure Cooking lid and set the vent to sealing, set the time to 5 minutes. Mix the flour and the lemon zest, into the remaining yogurt mixture. After five minutes, de-pressurize the Instant Pot and add the remaining yogurt mixture with all of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Secure the pressure lid and vent to sealing, set to Pressure Cook for 5 additional minutes. De-pressurize carefully.
4. After allowing the chicken to rest, slice it and lay it on a plate over rice. Drizzle the sauce over the chicken serve.

Notes:

• Rinse 100 g (heaping 1/2 cup) of rice in cold water until it runs clear. Add to the Instant Pot. Add 100 g (about 1/2 cup) of cold water or broth to the Instant Pot, add salt and 15 g (1 tbsp) melted butter, and stir well. Secure the pressure cooker lid and turn the pressure knob to the sealing setting. Use the Pressure cook setting on high for 3 minutes, then allow the steam to release naturally (about 10 minutes). Open by pressing the knob to release any extra steam to allow the lid to easily come off. Remove from the IP and set it aside.
• Adding the sun-dried tomatoes for the initial cook allows the tomatoes to totally soften into the sauce.

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Asian Inspired Instant Pot broiled Cod

Summer dinners are often a pain because I just don’t feel like turning the oven on and heating up the kitchen, this is where the Instant Pot really comes in handy. I have the one with the air-fryer lid and it can also act as a broiler, and it’s fast! Easy clean up too. I came up with this recipe for a quick dinner (less than 20 minutes, including the rice in the Instant Pot) and JT said, you should make this again. Always a nice compliment, particularly with fish.

Asian Inspired Instant Pot broiled Cod

Ingredients:

• 15 mL honey
• 10 mL rice vinegar
• 5 mL sambal oelek
• 8 g white miso paste
• 3 mL soy sauce
• 5 g puréed roasted garlic
• 3 g grated ginger
• 5 mL toasted sesame oil
• 20 g Wild Alaskan Cod
• Rice, mushrooms and peas to serve on

Directions :

1. Combine the first 8 ingredients to form a paste. Brush the paste lightly on the cod and allow to sit for an hour or so; when ready to cook, pour the remainding sauce on the top.
2. Set the air-fryer basket into the Instant Pot, add the second shelf, and line with parchment. Set the glazed fish on top. Close with the air fryer lid and set to Air Fry for 5 minutes or until the internal temperature is 145° F.
3. Serve on rice, mushrooms and peas.

 

Notes:

• Because the air-fryer lid isn’t secured like the pressure cooker lid, I was able to attach a thermometer to the fish and have it notify my phone when it reached the temperature so it doesn’t over cook.

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Instant Pot Roasted Garlic, Cauliflower Mash

 

If it’s a really hot summer’s day and you don’t want to turn on the big oven, this is a great alternative method to roast cauliflower and it’s super easy to clean up. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 500 g Cauliflower florets, similar size
• 15 mL Extra Virgin Olive oil
• 2-4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• Sea salt
• 250 mL water
• Butter, cream or chicken stock

Directions:

1. Drizzle the oil onto the cauliflower so it covers overall. Lay the cauliflower into the air fryer basket, tuck the garlic cloves into the cauliflower. Set the air fryer lid on and choose ‘Roast’, 330° F for 15 minutes. Stir three times during the cooking process.
2. Pour the cauliflower into the pressure cooking pot and add 1 cup of water. Set the pressure cooking lid on and setting to ‘Pressure Cooking’ for 5 minutes. Depressurize carefully or allow it naturally to depressurize.
3. When complete, cauliflower should be very soft. Squeeze out the garlic and add to the cauliflower into a glass container. Blend with the immersion blender until smooth adding the remaining water from cooking or butter or cream or stock to achieve the desired consistency. Reheat in the microwave when ready to serve.

A fantastic low-carb alternative to mashed potatoes.

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