Pressure cooker pot-roast chicken with freekeh and greens

Name: Pressure cooker pot-roast chicken with freekeh and greens
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients: 15g butter; 1 tbsp baharat spice mix; 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest; ½ tsp sea salt; 1 chicken, trussed; 1 mint sprig, plus extra to serve; 2 garlic cloves, bruised; For the pot; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 100g cracked freekeh, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes; 100g frozen broad beans, defrosted (optional); 200ml chicken stock or water; Juice 1 lemon; 150g greens, such as cavolo nero, chard or similar

Portion size: Serves 4-6
Hands-on time 25 min. Simmering time 15 min
Difficulty: easy

Dairy-free

Recipe by: Catherine Phipps

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Cook pot-roast chicken in a pressure cooker in next to no time. Pressure cooker expert Catherine Phipps shares an easy recipe, with two delicious variations.

Recipe from Modern Pressure Cooking: The Comprehensive Guide to Stovetop and Electric Cookers, with Over 200 Recipes by Catherine Phipps (Quadrille, £26) Photography © Andrew Hayes-Watkins.

Next time: try creamy pot roast chicken with pumpkin.

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Ingredients

15g butter
1 tbsp baharat spice mix
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
½ tsp sea salt
1 chicken, trussed
1 mint sprig, plus extra to serve
2 garlic cloves, bruised

For the pot

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
100g cracked freekeh, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes
100g frozen broad beans, defrosted (optional)
200ml chicken stock or water
Juice 1 lemon
150g greens, such as cavolo nero, chard or similar

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Method

Mix the butter, spice mix, lemon zest and salt, then rub over the chicken. Put the mint and bruised garlic cloves inside the chicken cavity. Heat the olive oil in the pressure cooker, then brown the chicken all over.
Remove the chicken from the pressure cooker, then put in the onion and chopped garlic. Fry for a minute or two, then add the freekeh, broad beans (if using)and stock or water. Return the chicken to the pressure cooker and squeeze over the lemon juice. Bring up to high pressure and cook for 15 minutes, then leave off the heat so the pressure can drop naturally.
Remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and cover loosely with foil to rest. Put the greens in the cooker and return to high pressure. Fast release. Spoon the freekeh and greens around the chicken and serve sprinkled with a little more mint.
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Nutrition

413kcals Calories
13.2g (4.1g saturated) Fat
54.3g Protein
16.3g (2.8g sugars) Carbs
5.6g Fibre
0.5g Salt

Quick wins & tips

Two variations to try:

Spiced pot-roast chicken with wild rice and a quick coriander chutney Put a few fresh curry leaves (optional), a few coriander stalks and 2 bruised garlic cloves into the chicken cavity. Mix 15g butter with the grated zest of 1 lime and 2 tsp curry powder, then rub over the chicken. Sear as in the main recipe. Remove and put 1 finely chopped onion, 2 tbsp chopped coriander stalks and 4 finely chopped garlic cloves in the pressure cooker. Fry for 2 minutes, then add another 2 tsp curry powder, 150g wild or brown rice and 250ml chicken stock or water. Dot with butter. Return the chicken to the pressure cooker and cook as in the main recipe.

Serve with this quick coriander chutney: whizz 1 large bunch coriander with the grated zest and juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp honey, a pinch of ground turmeric and 2-3 green chillies. Temper this with cooling plain yogurt, if you like.

Pot-roast chicken with 40 garlic cloves Brown the chicken as in the main recipe. Put herbs in the cavity and in the base of the pressure cooker: tarragon works beautifully, so does thyme or bay, or even all three. Add about 40 unpeeled garlic cloves, 100ml vermouth or dry white wine and 100ml chicken stock. Cook as in the main recipe. Remove the chicken and garlic from the pot. Squeeze out all the garlic cloves (discard the skins) and return to the cooker, then mix with the cooking liquid. Add crème fraîche and more chopped herbs, if you like, or a squeeze of lemon/lime juice to counter the creamy savouriness.

Cook smarter

“I’ve given variations to show how versatile a pressure cooker pot roast can be. You can make it in a simple form – a quick browned chicken, a few aromatics and minimal liquid, then 15 minutes at high pressure – but it also lends itself well to being a one-pot meal. Grains work particularly well but potatoes will sit comfortably around the chicken, too, even with the longer cooking time.” Catherine Phipps