Italian Pot Roast {Electric Pressure Cooker Recipe}

I had a small little dinner gathering this weekend, with a delicious Italian Pot Roast made in the pressure cooker.  Yum!  Followed by a trip to the local theater to watch the latest James Bond installment, SKYFALL with Daniel Craig.  DOUBLE YUM!  And to make it all that much sweeter….November 11th was suppose to be the birth date of James Bond!

My husband always complained that suits are so uncomfortable and so restricting.  But I think that’s a load of crock!  Look at all the things that James Bond can accomplish looking GQ 24 hours a day!  Okay, fine, he’s a fictional character.  No, but still!!!  Drooool……

The pot roast was super easy to make.  And I paired it with creamy mashed potatoes that my husband made from scratch.  And some roasted lemony Brussels sprouts and asparagus.  I originally found the pot roast recipe on The Pioneer Woman and decided to adapt it for the pressure cooker since I was in serious need of cooking inspiration.  It turned out to be a big success and only took like 30-minutes cook time instead of 4 hours in the oven.  Maybe a total of 45-minutes if you include the prep work.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3-lbs Beef Rump Roast (Cut into 2″ chunks; you can choose to leave the roast whole, but cooking time will be 60-75 minutes)
• 1 Jar/Can of Roasted Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Jar/Can of Sun Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil
• 1 Jar/Can of Marinated Artichokes in Water
• 1 Whole Onion (Finely Sliced)
• 4 Whole Garlic (Minced)
• 1 Package of Mushrooms (Chopped)
• 2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning (Forgot to photograph)

Remove the fat from the roast and use a sharp knife to cut the meat into whole 2 inch chunks.  We’re going to precook the meat in the pressure cooker first to do a “wash”.  This removes all the unwanted grime and gristle from the meat so it leaves the end result cleaner.

Place all the meat into the pressure cooker and pour in 3-4 cups of water.  Season with salt and pepper if you wish.

Shut the lid and lock it into position.  Set the valve to AIRTIGHT and program the pressure cooker to cook for 10-minutes.  Press START.

When the pressure cooker is pressurized and cooks for 10-minutes, it’ll automatically beep and go to Keep Warm.  You can release the pressure by setting the pressure valve to EXHAUST.  Remove all the meat into a bowl.  Discard all the grimy water.  Rinse the meat in the bowl to remove any remaining residue and then put the meat back into the cooking pot of the pressure cooker again.

Now you can add all the remaining ingredients in with the meat.  Julienne slice the bell peppers, and chop the artichokes.  Leave the sun dried tomatoes as is unless they are huge and need chopping as well.

Include all the olive oil and water from the jars of bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes and artichokes.  Do not drain.  Pour them all into the pressure cooker pot.  Add the onions and mushrooms and garlic.   Add the Italian Seasoning and any other herbs you wish to add.

That’s pretty much it.  It’s super easy!  Lock the lid and set the pressure cooker to cook for an additional 20-minutes.  It can’t get any easier than this!!!

THE END!

Okay, not really.  I’m just kidding.  But really, that’s the whole basis of it.  Let the pressure cooker do its thing and when it’s done, you know the drill.  Release the pressure before opening the lid.

I chose to use the cooking juices from the cooking to make a gravy.  So use a slotted spoon and ladle out all the meat and vegetables, everything, and put them into a separate serving platter.

In a small bowl, mix half a cup of water with 1 tbsp of flour and mix until it becomes a runny white goo.

Press the START button on the pressure cooker so it’s starts to simmer the cooking juices remaining in the pot.  Stir it while slowly pouring in the flour mixture and keep stirring and simmering until the gravy becomes a nice thick consistency.

That’s it.  Turn the pressure cooker OFF and serve your awesome pot roast that will melt in your mouth, not in your hands.  😛

Serve over mashed potatoes or some pasta.  Or with a side of roasted potatoes.  Top with the fresh gravy.

And oh yeah, don’t forget your dinner drink.  Shaken, not stirred.  🙂