Risotto Bolognese
Adapted from Claire K Creations, originally from Nigella Kitchen
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1 onion
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1 carrot
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1 stick of celery
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1 clove garlic
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75g bacon
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4 anchovy fillets (I used white anchovies)
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1 tablespoon oil
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250g/half a pound minced beef
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1/2 cup red wine
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250g risotto rice (I used paella rice, naughty!)
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400g diced tomatoes
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1 tablespoon tomato paste
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2 tablespoons milk
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6 cups beef stock
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2 bay leaves
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salt and black pepper to season
Using the Breville Fast Slow Cooker as a pressure cooker:
There are some basic rules to using pressure cookers:
- Make sure the silicon seal is in good condition and attached properly
-Do not move the pressure cooker while it is cooking
- Ensure that the valve is set to release steam while it is cooking
The Breville Fast Slow cooker ($199) is easy enough to use. I don't like equipment that you have to do too much to when you take it out of a box (putting together Ikea furniture is solely Mr NQN's domain) and this is pretty much push in the plug and go. The non stick insert allows you to sear meat and vegetables before they are slow or fast cooked which is handy and there's also a steamer insert and steamer setting should you want to. And the interesting part is that this 6 litre cooker actually the same price as their 7 litre slow cooker ($199) by itself which begs the question why would someone buy a slow cooker if they can get a slow and fast cooker together. Apparently they know that people are scared of pressure cookers.
The first day I ran out of time to make this in a slow cooker in time for the best light for photographs so I started off pressure cooking the risotto. The searing was easy and the instructions easy to follow. It's pretty much sear everything and then add the liquid and rice and then put the lid on and press function, the time you wanted and then start (which is also the cancel button). One important thing that I found a bit ambiguous in the instructions was a vital one which was make sure that the valve is set to release steam. Now from looking at the picture and instruction book the only hint was the arrow that was going anti clockwise. I moved it anti clockwise but I wasn't sure how far and so a little worried I turned it on and set it to cook for 12 minutes and then left the kitchen taking all my valuables in tow just in case...
It seemed to work and over the next 12 minutes I heard some steam hissing from the pressure cooker and everything seemed to be in order. However it does take some time to get up to the steaming level so you will wait about 10 minutes or so and then the 12 minute count down will begin. One thing that I did notice however on subsequent uses is that it is possible to use the pressure cooker without the timer. That is, I thought I set the timer but I forgot to hit start as I was busy talking on the phone. However the pressure cooker started working and it was only when I thought that the time was up that I wandered back into the kitchen only to see that the timer hadn't started but the pressure cooker had started. That seemed a bit strange and really _not _how you want it to be.
I heard a beep and my risotto was ready. I wasn't sure what to do now-did I let enough steam escape already? There was a steam release button which I pressed which made the valve release a tiny more amount of steam. Just in case I waited another 10 minutes to let it settle down before opening the lid. I stirred it around and voila, it was ready!
Instructions for pressure cooker risotto bolognese:
Step 1 - In a food processor blend the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bacon and anchovy until chopped finely-you can even take this towards a paste too. Heat the searing insert and once hot add the oil and cook it until soft for five minutes. You can also set it to sear for five minutes while you stir it.
Step 2 - Add the mince and brown it by breaking it up as you brown it. Add the wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, milk, stock, rice (I didn't wash the rice before putting it in as I wanted to give it extra starch) and bay leaves. Set it to pressure cook for 12 minutes (or 10 minutes if you want more sauce). Ensure that all pressure is release by pressing release steam button. Remove lid and season with salt and pepper.
*Using the Breville Fast Slow Cooker as a slow cooker:*
The next day I tried it out with the slow cooker function. The night before I had already prepped the soffritto base and had it all ready to sear by the time I started at 10am (a girl needs a cup of tea and to check her emails before doing anything like this). I seared the vegetables and meat and used the same amount of ingredients. I had removed the silicon seal and washed it the previous day so I put it back in and put the lid back on. The lid wouldn't go on and the slow cooker started beeping at me insistently. I went back to the instruction booklet and saw that I needed to put the silicon seal with the arrows facing up and if it wasn't inserted properly the lid wouldn't fit and beeping would ensue.
I was quite glad of this safety precaution as it's not such a big issue for a slow cooker but the seal is very important for when you are pressure cooking and it's not immediately obvious when you're putting the seal back into the lid as it fits both right way up and the wrong way up. I then set the slow cooker to cook for six hours and waited and waited. "Hurry up!" I said to it. The aroma was tempting me like a pair of the latest sparkly Louboutins and I had to stop myself from opening it up and peeking inside. "Damn you slow cooker! If I had made you using the fast cooker setting I would be eating it by now!" Yes I talk to myself and my appliances a lot. Another result of working from home by yourself.
One thing that some people may not like is not having a glass lid so that you can see how the food is progressing. Here it has a metal lid and it was only after the first hour when the time changed from saying 6 hours to read 5 hours remaining that I knew that it was working. I think a count down for the minutes rather than just the hours or some sort of indication that the slow cooker has started cooking would be a good idea.
After six hours of inhaling delicious aromas I opened up the slow cooker. The mince has come to the top and rice was a bed underneath. The rice having been slow cooked also had not stuck to the bottom. It did look quite different to the pressure cooked risotto. The pressure cooker risotto was more vivid orangey red in colour whereas the colour for the slow cooked version was paler and more washed out in colour.
In terms of price, there are much less expensive slow cookers and fast cookers on the market so it depends on what you're willing to spend. Slow cookers start at around $50 by themselves and pressure cookers start around $80 but of course with this you get the both in one plus a steamer and the searing function. I preferred this pressure cooker to my mother's as there were more indicators and safety catches although there was the ambiguity with the valve that I experienced which I am told they are now going to change in the design.
Instructions for slow cooker risotto bolognese:
The seals and pressure valves aren't relevant for the slow cooker. I used the exact same recipe and cooked it for 6 hours as that was the shortest period of time specified. The rice was a little too soft for me so I'd recommend perhaps cooking it for 4 hours.
Summary of the Breville Fast Slow Cooker - $199
Pros:
-Being able to sear in the same pot as you cook so less dishes
-LED display makes it very easy and precise with cooking times
-Some safety catches such as the one with the silicon seal
-You get the two cookers in one so it requires less space
-Very easy to work and close and open
Cons:
-The steam release valve is ambiguous for such an important function (this will be fixed in later models)
-You can't tell whether the slow cooker is working until an hour has elapsed and the time changes
-The cooker can work independently of the timer
-No glass lid to see how food is progressing (slow cookers usually have glass lids)