Last updated 12:53, Sunday, 09 March 2008

WE GOT a pressure cooker for Christmas. We did ask for it, so it wasn't a booby prize present or anything.

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To be honest, the idea of cooking with a pressure cooker has secretly scared us, but we decided to face the challenge head on to conquer our fears.

If we've all got such busy lives, then surely the idea of having a device that reduces cooking time is a good one.

As we've mentioned before, at this time of year we're cooking soups, stews, curries and the like. It occurred to us that all of these things could be bunged into the pressure cooker to save time.

We're happy to report that the dishes we've prepared have been a resounding success and furthermore, our kitchen is still intact.

We did discover however, that if you try to let the steam escape too quickly after cooking on full power, that the cooker doubles up as a steam cleaner for your extraction hood. Well, you've got to look on the bright side.

So we say bring back the pressure cooker.

It really does save you time.

It may have got bad press in years gone by.

We think that's simply the case as people were trying to cook the wrong things in there. If you are trying to cook a selection of different vegetables all at the same time in one of the divider inserts, then you probably won't get great results as everything tends to taste the same. However, we cooked a selection of root vegetables together in it for a mash.

It was done in a matter of minutes and the mash was great as we wanted the flavours of the vegetables to meld together.

Slow braised dishes also only take a matter of minutes. To test this theory, we did a live cook-up on the radio, and if we can produce a lamb casserole outside Radio Cumbria in the car park on a camping stove, then surely you can in the comfort of your own kitchen on a proper hob.

Don't panic if you can't get your hands on a pressure cooker. This casserole can of course be slow cooked as usual, it will just take longer than we've stated in this recipe.

Lamb and rosemary casserole

500g diced lamb neck

1 large onion finely chopped

4 cloves garlic crushed (we love the combination of lamb and garlic, but if you've got an important meeting the next morning, you can use less)

3 large carrots cut into 2 inch chunks

3 sticks celery cut into 3 inch chunks

1 small handful fresh rosemary leaves stripped from the woody stem

1 bottle beer (we used Jennings ale in the spirit of supporting local producers)

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 tablespoon mustard

1 lamb stock cube

½ pack new potatoes, cut in half

Splash of oil

Salt and pepper

Gravy granules (optional)

Heat the pan on the stove top. Put in a splash of oil and brown the meat. You may have to do this in batches. Season the meat as you go.

Remove the meat from the pan and add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot.

Allow to get some colour and sauté for a few minutes until slightly cooked through.

Return the meat to the pan.

Add the rosemary, beer, tomato puree, mustard and stock cube. At this stage, you may have to top up with some water. You want all of the ingredients to be submerged in liquid.

Attach the pressure cooker lid and cook on full steam for about 20 minutes. Release the pressure, remove the lid then add the potatoes.

Cook on full steam for a further five minutes.

By this stage the stew should have made its own lovely gravy. If you want it to be slightly thicker, you can reduce down for a few more minutes or sprinkle in a few gravy granules to instantly thicken. Check the seasoning here too and adjust if necessary.

For a real one-pot wonder you can even add a selection of vegetables to the casserole. In fact this is what we usually do at home to lessen the washing up.

For a bit of a contrast, some nice green veg like peas and asparagus could be added. These cook so quickly that we would heat them in the pan conventionally for a minute or so, no need for pressure.