I recently responded to an email from a fellow sailor who had reviewed one of my contributions to a website about the advantages of having a pressure cooker onboard. He remarked that he had tried using the pressure cooker years before moving aboard a sailboat, but the meals had a “burned taste” and he felt the pressure cooker was good only for making stews and such, and maybe canning veggies.
My reply to him was to suggest that perhaps he had not learned how to use the pressure cooker properly, and that there are hundreds and hundreds of gourmet-level recipes for pressure cooker meals. I encouraged him to give the pressure cooker another try, this time following the manufacturer’s instructions for its use, and following precisely the ingredients and method of preparation for the recipe. I closed my message to him with this unbelievably simple recipe requiring only 6 minutes of cooking, and assured him it would be a memorable feast if he would only give it a try. For all my fellow sailors, here’s the recipe:
Pollo Radido w/Garlic & Red Wine
“Pollo rapido” is Spanish for ‘Fast Chicken,” and this recipe lives up to its name! Inexpensive chicken thighs plus tarragon, garlic and red wine, and all done in little more than 6 minutes total cooking time in the pressure cooker. What more could a harried skipper ask for? I usually serve this with hot buttered noodles sprinkled with chopped cilantro, or a mound of steamed white rice. A tropical fruit salad will round out the meal. Serves 4 hungry sailors.
Ingredients:
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
12 large cloves or garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Sprinkle salt and pepper onto the thighs to season, then heat olive oil in the cooker over high heat and when it’s smoking, add the garlic and red wine. Lock on the cooker lid and over high heat bring the cooker to pressure and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 2 more minutes. Turn off heat and allow cooker to sit for another 2 minutes to finish cooking. Now, release any remaining pressure and transfer the thighs to a serving platter and keep warm. Finally, heat cooker and reduce the broth over high heat for a couple of minutes, then stir in butter and when melted, pour over the thighs. Garnish with a little extra tarragon if desired. Serve with buttered noodles or steam rice.
This recipe originally posted in the forum.
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