Chef Alex Guarnaschelli: Pressure Cooker White Beans

You don’t need to soak dry beans if cooking in the pressure cooker but rinse the beans under cool water. For simplest results, use a small size bean like “Navy” or “Great Northern”. These beans are wonderful eaten as a side dish to any vegetables, meat or fish. They are also tasty spread on toast with fresh parsley and lemon zest as a snack. Puree the beans in the food processor and you have a wonderful bean dip on your hands! The pressure cooker gets you to the end result faster.

1 pound dry white beans, rinsed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoon (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
Zest from 1 small lemon
1 tablespoon honey
8 sprigs flat leaf parsley, chopped, stems and all
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

Yield: About 5 cups cooked white beans
(8-10 servings)

Get ready: In the pressure cooker, combine the white beans, olive oil and garlic with 6 cups of water. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Lock the lid on top and bring the cooker to a high simmer. Lower the heat and cook for 30 minutes. Once finished, allow the cooker to release its pressure naturally. On average, this takes about 20-25 minutes.

Finish: Drain excess liquid, if any. Stir in the butter, lemon zest, honey and parsley and season with salt and black pepper to taste.