I used to own an instant pot. Those are great. I gave it away when I moved and now I just have a regular pressure cooker, which is also really great.
My quickest and easiest, but still yummy thing to make is chickpeas. I soak them overnight. Pick out the ugly ones. Drain the water. Barely cover them with fresh water (since they’ve already soaked, they don’t need tons of water). Then I heat the pot on high until I hear the pressure noise, switch it to low heat, and let it cook for 15-20 minutes. Then I turn off the heat and let the pressure out naturally.
Once they’re done I sometimes just eat a bowl of them with nothing more than olive oil and salt. Yum.
One of my other favorite dishes is a bit more elaborate but still simple and healthy: split pea soup. I don’t soak the peas but I do rinse them. I put them in the pressure cooker with a bay leaf, chopped garlic and onions, diced potatoes and carrots, and I’ll cover the whole thing with a decent amount of water. Then, like the chick peas, I’ll let the pressure hiss, then put it on low heat for 15-20 minutes. I let the pressure naturally release.
Sometimes I’ll sautée even more onions and garlic in a separate pan with avocado oil on low heat for a while, until they look like they’re getting caramelized (fucking yum).
When the soup is done, I’ll remove the bay leaf, add the extra onions and garlic (if I did that step), add some salt, then use an immersion blender. It’s SUPER IMPORTANT to remove the bay leaf if you use an immersion blender.
Then when I eat it, I put a decent amount of olive oil and make sure the salt level is tasty. Even better if I have spicy olive oil around :)
I’m assuming you’re vegan?
If what you’re looking for is a quick vegan dish, here’s something I learnt in Japan - baked avocado.
Open a ripe avocado lengthwise and remove the seed. Take a sharp knife and cut a grid-like pattern into the avocado, going as deep as possible (careful not to puncture the skin!).
Now, pour some soy sauce of your liking (ideally not a thickened one, and with a moderate saltiness level) into the cavity. You don’t want to fill it completely, that would be overpowering. Maybe about 1/3 of the depth, just enough to allow it to seep into every crevice when baking.
For the baking process itself, crumble up some tinfoil to make a stand for the avocado halves, you want them to remain as level as possible. Bake them on 350F / 175C for about 20-25 min, you want them to be soft but not burned.
Once done, decorate with sesame seeds and either spoon them out directly (that’s the Japanese way) or spread on a toasted sourdough bread, sprinkle some smoked paprika and chopped chives & coriander over it, and enjoy.
Vegetarian option: Crack an egg into the cavity (on top of the soy sauce) 5 min into the bake. You want about 15 min left for solid eggwhites with a still semi-runny yolk. Mix it up and spread on bread.
Omnivore option: Fry some bacon beyond crispy, crumble it up completely, and drizzle the bacon bits on top.
Wow my mouth is watering now…will try this when I get avocados. Thanks for enlightening me!
