By Guy Venables

Most people, when they think of pressure cookers wince and tell stories of extra portholes blown through various parts of boats. These were the old aluminium ones that did indeed creak and hiss at you and would sometimes get a bit jumpy. The next thing that people imagine is that all you can do in a pressure cooker is curry (see extract from Bernard Moitessier’s Sailing to the Reefs, right). Here in this series we look at the wide range of meals one can make that are not only incredibly quick and easy but retain far more flavour than their longwinded counterparts. We used a Kuhn Rikon duromatic pressure cooker. Other pressure cookers are available but this one is pretty good.
Now, who wants a roast chicken in 25 minutes?

You will need:
1
(2 lb) whole chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper
1½ cups chicken stock

Rinse chicken & pat dry. Season with salt & pepper.
Heat oil in uncovered pressure cooker; brown chicken on all sides in hot oil. Remove chicken.
Place rack in pressure cooker and place browned chicken in rack (if you don’t have a rack it’s not absolutely necessary). Add stock around chicken.
Place lid on cooker, seal, and bring up to pressure.
Cook for 25 minutes.
Release pressure by quick release method.
Remove chicken to platter, pour accumulated juice into bowl & serve with torn off chunks of chicken.
Because the liquid is retained throughout, the flesh of the chicken stays particularly moist. If you feel fancy you can always rub the skin in something like paprika or add a bayleaf to the stock. Now pop the cork on something cold and white and enjoy. GV