Cooking Under Pressure: Pressure Caramelized Sweet Potato Soup

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Just in time for winter, we decided to develop a new seasonal variation of one of our Modernist Cuisine traditions: Pressure Caramelized Sweet Potato Soup. The recipe for this magical soup incorporates black peppercorns to give it a nice zip, and hints of sweet onion and Makrud leaves complement the caramelized sweet potato stock.

 

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The charm of this soup is twofold: the elevated temperature of pressure-cooking coupled with an alkaline environment ensure that caramelization reactions will flourish.

Vegetables are made up of cells with strong walls that soften at higher temperatures than the cells in meat do. Vegetables are composed mostly of water, however, and their temperature normally won’t exceed the boiling point of water (100˚C/212˚F) until they are dried out. Vegetables in a fully pressurized cooker don’t dry out as they quickly become tender under higher temperatures (120˚C/250˚F). And because the air is sealed in, you don’t need to add much water, so juices are extracted without becoming diluted.

Add to this a pinch of baking soda to bring the soup to a more alkaline pH of about 7.5 and you have ideal conditions for Maillard reactions to commence. The result is a gorgeously colored soup that is the concentrated essence of caramelized sweet potato.

 

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We like to finish our soup with purple sweet potato confit, roasted chestnuts, and toasted marshmallows. The purple sweet potatoes add a brilliant dash of color, and toasted marshmallows add a touch of tradition and whimsy. This soup is the perfect way to begin special dinners this holiday season.

Pressure-Caramelized Sweet Potato Soup

The Amazing Pressure Cooker

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In the third installment of MDRN KTCHN, our very own Scott Heimendinger and CHOW.com team up to bring you a video all about pressure cooking. Discover how it works, when it was invented, and how baking soda caramelizes root vegetables in 20 minutes.

Now that you can’t wait to dust off your pressure cooker, get the Caramelized Carrot Soup recipe and watch a demonstration by Scott here. Other pressure cooker recipes in our recipe library include Garlic Confit and Vegetable Risotto. For even more recipes using pressure cookers to make everything from stocks to carnitas to marinara sauce, check out our new book, Modernist Cuisine at Home!

Our Favorite Recipes: Vegetable Soup

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I love all of the pressure-cooked soup variations in Modernist Cuisine at Home. We have an “at home” version of the Caramelized Carrot Soup recipe (as in the video above), but we also have several variations using artichoke, parsnip, or apple, because the technique applies to nearly any vegetable. You can make a great soup in only 20 minutes.

Developmental Chef Anjana Shanker

All week we’ll be telling you about the chefs favorite recipes from MCAH! Check back for more photos, stories, and tips.

– The Modernist Cuisine Team

Bringing Back the Pressure Cooker

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Mifsud writes, I followed a few of Myhrvold’s other suggestions and soon discovered that pressure cookers make superior, stir-free risotto, cooked through, but with a pleasant hint of resistance, after just five-and-a-half minutes at pressure.

Rob Mifsud, who has reviewed MC, interviewed Nathan Myhrvold, and even went toe-to-toe with nay saying critics of Modernist cooking, has a brilliant article on Slate.com today. This time (with a little help from our Recipe Library and his copy of Modernist Cuisine), he is promoting pressure-cooking as an easy, effective method of cooking. Mifsud delves into the history of the pressure cooker while pondering a question many of us have asked: Why don’t more people own one?

Click here to read the full article. And if you need a recommendation on a model, we like the Kuhn Rikon Duromatic.

Teaching Melissa Clark

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New York Times columnist Melissa Clark gave Nathan Myhrvold what many might consider the ultimate challenge: teach me recipes from Modernist Cuisine that I can make for a dinner party without buying any unusual ingredients or equipment.

Nathan isn’t one to turn down a challenge, and besides, cooking from Modernist Cuisine in a home kitchen is much easier than lifting it. Nathan taught Melissa how to cook salmon sous vide using tap water, cook steak in the oven, infuse celery with apple juice, caramelize delicata squash in a pressure cooker, and make balsamic panna cotta. For the results of Melissa’s dinner party, plus the recipes and videos, read the article here.

New Recipes in the Library: Risottos

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The carrot juice in the Pressure-Cooked Vegetable Risotto adds a dose of vibrancy to your meal.

Whether you’re searching for the perfect dish to bring to your next holiday potluck or the right accompaniment for your Christmas goose (or lamb, or ham, or turkey), risottos have just made the top of your list. Using our techniques, making risotto is a breeze — and it can be prepared a week in advance. In the newest edition to our Recipe Library, we’ve included a parametric recipe for cooking risottos from a variety of ingredients, including quinoa and forbidden rice, as well as Nathan’s recipe for Pressure-Cooked Vegetable Risotto. There’s also a special offer from Sous Vide Supreme!

New Recipe: Garlic Confit

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We love pressure cookers for making garlic confit, stocks, and grains, too!

You can find our recipe for garlic confit along with tips on pressure cooker safety in our Recipe Library! We’ve also included a step-by-step video on how to safely use a pressure cooker and a helpful table on the boiling point of liquids at different gauges of pressure.

New Recipe (and It’s Not from the Book): Thanksgiving Stew

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What do you get when you combine a water bath, pressure cooker, chicken feet, cranberries, and Stove Top stuffing? The tastiest Thanksgiving meal you’ve ever eaten out of a bowl!

Along with the multi-component recipe, we also have tips, photos, and four videos (sous vide turkey breast, sous vide cranberry consommé, microwave-fried herbs, and how to beautifully plate your stew).

New Recipe & Video: Caramelized Carrot Soup

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Caramelized carrot soup plated with coconut chutney foam, ajowan seeds, fresh tarragon, and baby carrots.

Fall is the perfect time to enjoy our caramelized carrot soup, though once you’ve tried it, you’ll probably find yourself making it year-round. Head over to our Recipe Library to check out the recipe. Watch the video and follow the tips to create amazing bowls of carrot soup your family, friends, or neighbors will love.

Maxime Will Teach Modernist Cooking at Sur La Table

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Maxime tossing pad thai

Maxime Bilet, coauthor of Modernist Cuisine, will team up with the elite national cooking store Sur La Table for a one-day class. Max will present cooking demonstrations of the following dishes from MC:

  • Extracted Berry Juice Soda
  • Pressure-Cooked Carrot Soup with Coconut Cream
  • Brined and Slow-Poached Wild Salmon
  • Seared Sous Vide Steak with Creamed Spinach
  • Lemon Curd with Sliced Citrus

The class will be held on Wednesday, September 28, 2011, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Sur La Table in Kirkland, Washington. Tickets are $95 and can be purchased through Sur La Table. For tickets and more information, click here.