Chicken en Cocotte with Shallots, Apples, and Parsley

Milk Street Fast and Slow

My family got me this book (and several others!) for Christmas, to help me get more ideas for weeknight meals. I admit, I've been sleeping on the Instant Pot. I've had one for a long time, but I rarely use it. I think I had to get over the timing thing. It is not, in fact, instant. It DOES cut down on the time to cook lots of things, but you also have to factor in the time for it to come up to pressure, and the time for it to release pressure, which can add quite a bit.

One of the things I like about the Instant Pot, especially compared to a standard slow cooker, is that you can brown food in it before you close it up to cook, and you can also boil it after to thicken up sauces. You don't have to use a separate pan to do it! This recipe uses both of those techniques browning up the veg and bringing the liquid to a simmer (which also helps to bring it up to pressure faster) and using a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce after the chicken is removed.

The Instant Pot can also be used as a slow cooker, and several (but not all) of the recipes in the book provide options for both. This one did not, but I look forward to trying it out, since I haven't yet. It can also be used as a rice cooker, which works very well!

The recipes in this book seem to be available on the Milk Street website, which requires registration and a small fee. If you have access, you can see it here: https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/shallots-apples-chicken-en-cocotte-fast-slow

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