This melt in your mouth beef with broccoli is sure to please the whole family. The perfect mid week meal, served to your table, in under 15 minutes.
Tag: Instant Pot Recipes
Instant Pot Roast Lamb
For many, lamb is considered a traditionally “Easter Dish” but in our house growing up, traditional Christmas meals comprised of anything from a stuffed Roast Chicken, a whole roasted fillet, or a fall off the bone tender leg of lamb.
Instant Pot has really changed the way I do holidays. Christmas days were traditionally spent with 4 or 5 adults in the kitchen, all fighting over kitchen counter space, with hours of prep work. In Africa, with Hot Christmases it was the absolute worst! What I love most about this recipe is that the prep work in minimal, giving you more time to spend with your loved ones over the holiday period, and less time in the kitchen. Order your leg of lamb de-boned from the butcher to allow it to fit comfortably into your instant pot. I like to keep it simple with the meat, pairing it with rosemary, garlic, thyme and some ground chilli flakes for a little kick.
Roll up the deboned leg of lamb and tie with string to keep its shape, then make little slits all over the lamb and stuff it with garlic slivers. Next, finely mince the rosemary, thyme and mix it with olive oil, salt and pepper. Rub a little oil over the lamb and rub the seasonings into it. Place whole crushed garlic cloves and sticks of rosemary into the centre of the meat. Allow to marinade for a minimum of 2 hours ( I like to leave it overnight).
Switch on your Instant Pot to the saute button and adjust the heat to high. Sear both sides of the lamb roast for about 4-5 minutes. Hit the cancel button.
Remove the lamb and de-glaze your pot with about a cup of water. Return the lamb and cook for between 1 to 1 hour 15 minutes. I had a leg just over 1kg, so I cooked mine for roughly 55 minutes, but it’s important to allow for a full Natural Pressure Release. If you really want to brown your lamb before serving you can stick in under the grill for 5 minutes before serving.
Once you remove your delicious, juicy lamb, make a little cornflour slurry with cornflour and water and switch your pot back onto Saute mode. Throw in the cornflour mixture, and ass a knob of butter for the most delicious gravy.
Serve with honey glazed baby carrots, crispy roast potatoes, buttery green beans and a drizzle of mint sauce for a delicious English roast meal!
For more festive meal ideas check out this cranberry and orange roast chicken recipe!
Festive Roast Lamb
A wonderfully tender, classic Roast Lamb which makes the perfect center dish for holiday special occasions. Cooked in your pressure cooker in under 2 hours, this delicious dish allows for less time in the kitchen, and more time with your loved ones.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 1-2 kg deboned leg of lamb
- 10 cloves garlic
- handful fresh rosemary
- handful fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
- salt and pepper
- Olive Oil
- 2 tsps Cornflour to create gravy
Instructions
- Start by rolling up your de-boned lamb, if this has not already been done for you.
- Cut slits into the meat and insert your garlic pods, I cut mine into half or thirds and evenly distributive throughout your meat. You can also shove in some rosemary sprigs.
- In the center of the lamb insert 2 to 3 crushed garlic cloves and a few more sprigs of rosemary
- Rub olive oil all over your meat and season with Salt, fresh black pepper and red chilli flakes and thyme.
- Switch your IP onto Saute mode, throw in a knob of butter and a glug of olive oil. Brown your lamb evenly on both sides.
- Remove lamb from the pot and deglaze with about 3/4 cup of water
- Return back to the pot, put the lid on and switch to Pressure Cook, "high". Depending on the size of the meat select your cook time. For a 1kg I would recommend 50 minutes to 1 hour. For a 2kg I would probably suggest about 1 hour 15 minutes. Once cook time has completed allow pressure to release naturally. (approx 20 minutes).
- Remove your lamb and allow to rest before carving (If you prefer a browner meat you can grill it for 5 minutes in the oven.
- Whilst the meat is resting, create a cornflour slurry with about 2 teaspoons of cornflour and a little cold water to mix. Hit saute mode again and add the slurry to the remaining liquid and stir to mix up the most delicious gravy.
- Serve with traditional crispy roast potatoes, sweet orange glazed baby carrots, green beans and spinach. Have some mint sauce on the side for a spectacular traditional English roast lamb !
Instant Pot Ribs – Sticky Prego Flavour
Heritage Day is one of those Public Holiday’s that is Proudly South African. A day to celebrate all of the unique and mixed cultures we have in our Rainbow Nation. No other country in the world can claim to have so many national languages, so many different and unique cultures and such a fantastic array of food!
I asked over on Instagram if you could pick one meal unique to YOUR heritage, what would it be? Here are some of the fantastic answers.
- Samp and Beans – Which I am proud to say I have tried and tested and actually LOVED in my Instant Pot
- Chicken Curry – Another one I have successfully “crossed over” and now will only make in my instant pot, i’ll be sharing my favourite recipe soon!
- Bunny Chow – Last year I did a lamb curry for Heritage Day, you could easily convert that and put it into your bread?
- Khowse
- Bobotie & rice
- Lamb
- Ribs
- Koeksisters
So what did I choose to make for Heritage Day?
We adore a good set of ribs, our preference is without a doubt beef ribs. I find the flavour a little more “mild” in comparison to lamb and I love the amount of meat you get on the bone. I have NEVER tried to make them in my Instant Pot, my normally “braai” them but let’s face it, with temperatures soaring as they have been the last week, why not skip the “braai day” and just have a swim and spend the time with your family day?
The ribs were fall off the bone tender, and I finished them off under the grill for 5 minutes so they had that beautiful charred texture. I marinated these in a Prego style sauce and my husbands only complaint was that we didn’t have more ! Served up with mealies (also cooked in my IP), homemade coleslaw and some garlic bread, you couldn’t get more South African if you tried 🙂 Actually we could… For dessert I made a “milk tart” flavoured Crème Brulee, both are some of my ALL TIME favourite desserts, so why not try to combine them?
No dealing with messy water baths here, I steamed them in my Instant Pot and they cooked in 7 minutes! The only let down was I ran out of gas in my blowtorch (which I bought years ago in my Master Chef days, specifically for Brulees 🙂 ), so I had to grill them in the oven, so excuse the less then “Pintrest Worthy” picture, but hey, it was a family meal after all and it’s the taste that counts right? TRUST ME, if you are a fan of Milk Tart or Crème Brulee, you need to try this recipe !
Happy Heritage Day South Africa, may this day bring positivity and a united spirit in us all. Whatever meal you choose, cut down the time cooking, use your Instant Pot and enjoy the day with your family! Recipes below:
For a step by step video tutorial check out my Instagram Page here
Instant Pot Ribs
Tender, fall off the bone, sticky ribs made in record time!
Servings: 4 people
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Steers Prego Sauce
- 2 TBSP Steers Barbeque Sauce
- 3 TBSP Tomato Sauce
- 2 tsp Red Ginger Garlic Masala
- 1 tsp Crushed Garlic
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar For the steaming liquid
Instructions
- Marinate your ribs in all of the above ingredients (except for the vinegar), Ideally for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Put 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar into the container and place the metal trivet on top.
- Place the ribs on the trivet or steamer basket.
- Place your lid on and make sure the vent is set to steaming.
- Select pressure cook, make sure its on high pressure and set the timer for 22 minutes.
- Natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then release the rest.
- Baste your ribs with the remainder of the marinade and grill/broil for 5 minutes to give them that charred feeling.
- Get messy and enjoy!
Instant Pot Dhal
This warm, comforting Dhal is the perfect recipe for a pick me up. We are definitely in a time of uncertainly, and while a large portion of South Africans have already started to “social distance” themselves, the reality is that this hasn’t even started to hit us yet! The main of social distancing is to prevent the COVID-19 virus from spreading, so if that means us not going into the grocery store, so be it. We’ve stocked up on pantry essentials, but are we used to cooking with them?
I bet my husband is secretly thanking my “Zimbabwe ways” now. You see my parents grew up in a war situation. Commodities were hard to come by and you had to learn to do what you could with the basics. So I grew up with frozen butter in the freezer and the pantry was always stocked with the basics, every item of food was saved and rehashed into another meal, so nothing was wasted. It just makes you realise how much food is typically wasted.
Together with Instant Pot, I’ll be focusing on some pantry essential meals over this next month.
Lets start by looking at my one go to. Lentils. Dried lentils can keep for years in a packet and are rich in iron and folate and an excellent source of protein. Dhal used to take a good hour or so to cook on the stove, with constant supervision to make sure it doesn’t burn. Cooking Dhal in my Instant Pot had honestly revolutionised the way I make it, and I will never do stove top again!
You can choose to add meat, or cook them plain, but very few ingredients are needed for a good dhaal. Some onion, grated tomato and spices are your core base.
When cooking in the Instant Pot, just remember to add enough water, otherwise the “burn” function will kick in.
Let me know your thoughts, but I guarantee once you try Dhal in your IP, you’ll never cook it any other way!
Instant Pot Dhal
In times when we are relying more on pantry essentials, this Dhal made in an Instant Pot, is quicker then ever to cook.
Servings: 4 people
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 medium Onion finely chopped
- 1.5 cups red lentils (oil dhal)
- 1 Medium chicken (cut into pieces)
- 1 cinnamon Stick
- 2 cardamom Pods
- 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 3 grated tomatoes
- 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp tumeric
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 whole green chilli (slit)
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp cumin/coriander mix
Instructions
- Marinade chicken with ginger/garlic masala
- Switch your Instant Pot onto Saute mode.
- Braise your sliced onion in oil, with cumin seeds, cinnamon stick and whole slit chilli, cardamom pods
- Add in your 1.5 cups red lentils
- Add in your spices : salt, red chilli powder, cumin/coriander mix, tumeric
- Add in your grated tomatoes
- Add in your chicken pieces
- Pour over approx 2.5 cups of water, and make sure there is no dhal stuck on the bottom, otherwise the "burn" function will come up.
- Set to pressure cook for 25 minutes, with a 5 minute natural release.
- Open the lid and de-bone any chicken if need be. If you prefer your dhal smoother (we do), you can blend it a little with a hand blender.
- Serve with some thin sliced, cripsy potatoes (aloo fry), rice and some kachumber (cucumber, onion, tomato and coriander)