Tripe Fricassee

Preamble

"My compliments to the pressure cooker.

Don't scoff at pressure-cookers! If you have only half a brain, you'll be capable of using a pressure-cooker and they are not dangerous.

Too many people ignorantly dismiss the idea of using a pressure-cooker, saying they don't understand them and just know they'd blow it up or spray the ktichen ceiling with barley soup.

Absolute nonsense!

I can assure you pressure-cooker designers have so perfected this sophisticated piece of kitchen equipment that it is impossible to blow one up.

It is possible to spray the ceiling white, if you so wish , by simply ignoring the rule that you should never fill the pot over two-thirds when cooking soups, stews or anything liquid. If that's not going to provide enough volume for your mob, you haven't bought a big enough pressure-cooker.

There's a wonderful French pressure-cooker on the local market called SEB which is available in seven sizes, from eight pint capacity to 39 pint, in either heavy gauge stainless steel of aluminium.

Incidentlally, it comes wtith an excellent recipe book of nearly 200 pages, writen by a French expert of pressure cooking.

Another "gourmet" recommendation is the Italian Sambonet pressure-cooker, in either EG quality stainless steel, nine or 12 pint capacity , or ICS quality stainless steel of 12 pint capacity.

What are the advantages of cooking this way?

There are innumerable, but probably the greatest one is time-saving; almost any food takes only one-third of the normal cooking time.

If you enjoy gourmet cooking but rarely indulge becasue you can't afford the time, you should have a pressure cooker.

Recipes which depend on hours of slow cooking, such as Boeuf a la Bourguignonne, a Pot-au-Feu or simply an Irish Stew can be produced in little more than one hour.

Apart from saving time, it's two-thirds off the gas or electricity bill, so you're not defeating the object owhen buying economical cuts of meat, which require long cooking to tenderise.

Imagine what bliss on a typically hot Australian Christmas Day to cook the traditional roast turkey dinner without sweltering in a kitchen where the oven has been on for hours.

No need to worry whether or not the turkey will be tough or dry, because pressure cooking can produce only tender succulent meats.

All the juices vaporise and condense back on to the meat, basting, flavouring, and tenderising it.

There's no loss of valuable vitamins or minerals, so frequently destroyed in long cooking, and flavours are lifted right out to their maximum.

It is important to understand this accentuation of flavour, so as not to be heavy handed with herbs and spices (or garlic) or the effect can become too exaggerated.

A pressure cooker is the answer to all the tricky things you might shy away from cooking, such as artichokes or asparagus, sheep or ox tongues, pate, brawns, ham, eel, hare, goat, venison, tripe, Christmas puddings, chutneys and preserves.

Because the process of pressure cooking is one using concentrated steam, there is no restriction when choosing meats, as even the cheapest and toughtest cuts will become tender.

These days, with soaring meat prices, pressure cooking is a welcome antidote.

Those huge boiler fowls that look so inviting because of their size and great abundance of flesh (which are taboo unless boiled or steamed for ages) can be cooked (allowing about seven minutes per pound) and then popped in the oven covered in bacon.

This will be transformed into a deliciously tender raost chicken dinner.

Here are a few recipes to try, remembering those important rules: Never fill the cooker more than 2/3 full of anything liquid.

Go easy on garlic, herbs and spices.

Calculate cooking time, as being about 1-3 of the usual ( as a general rule, you have to use a certain amout of initative) and cooking time is calculated from the point where pressure is reached. You know when the pressure is reached because the excess steam builidng-up releases through the valve and that's when you reduce the heat.

It's simple!"

Ingredients
2 lbs Tripe
1/2 cup Milk
1 tablespoon Cornflour
1 head Celery
2 Onions
2 dessertspoons chopped Parsley
Salt And Pepper to taste

Method
Cut the tripe into inch squares, wash and slice up vegetables. Place tripe, vegetables and seasonings in bottom of cooker, fasten lid, bring to pressure and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from stove, cool and remove lid. Add blended cornflour and milk to thicken, return to low heat and simmer gently until cornflour is cooked.

Remarks
If the milk is made from skimmed milk powder, the tripe will stay nice and white.