The Costco Connection - October 2018

2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp salt ½ tsp black pepper

8 chicken thighs (skinless and boneless, or with skin and bone, as pictured below)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

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cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Mix well. Sprinkle
chicken thighs evenly with spice mixture.

Add the oil to the Instant Pot. Select Sauté and adjust to Normal. Working two at a time, brown the thighs on both sides. Transfer the thighs to a plate; set aside.

Add the onion to the oil remaining in the pot; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute more. Add lentils, dates, olives, cinnamon sticks, wine, chicken broth and chicken. Place cilantro bundle on top of chicken. Press Cancel.

Secure the lid on the pot. Close the pressure-release valve.

Cook the chicken: Select Meat/Stew and adjust the cook time to Less. When cooking is complete, use a natural release to depressurize.

Serve the chicken: Remove the cilantro bundle and discard. Transfer cooked chicken to a plate. Spoon lentil mixture into a shallow bowl or onto plates; arrange thighs on top of lentils. Sprinkle with snipped cilantro and serve with lemon wedges. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

when I forked into a Moroccan chicken tagine, which has since supplanted my oft-braised version. Both were instantly added to our list of Instant (Pot) classics.

Once I grew brave enough to wing it without an official Instant Pot (IP) recipe, I modified my formula for steamed-then-fried Szechuan cumin ribs, resting a rack of marinated baby back ribs, bone-heads down, on my IP’s steamer trivet rather than oven-steaming them flat, in foil.

Instead of tossing out the soy-based marinade, I employed it as a steaming liquid that ka-POW!-erfully perfumed the ribs.

Nice work, Instant Pot!

As a technological doofus, I admit that the IP, with its (literal) bells and whistles, is not without an operational learning curve.

It’s a curve I continue to navigate, turning to my million-plus friends in the Facebook Instant Pot community for advice.

An avid cookbook collector, I also consult a growing stack of IP-sanctioned cookbooks, whose guidance and inspiration complements that of the slender recipe booklet packed—gratis—with my new favorite appliance.