Are you a planner or are you a last-minute cook? Planners like slow-cookers because they know at breakfast what they are going to eat for tonight’s dinner. They probably also know what they are going to eat a week from tonight.

I am not a planner. At 6 pm, I still don’t know what I am going to eat for tonight’s dinner. My ace in the hole is the pressure cooker. By using the pressure cooker, I can have dinner ready to serve at 7 pm — fresh, whole artichokes, cassoulet, dried bean dishes, soups of all variety, 7-minute risotto, boeuf bourguignon, succulent pork shoulder, leg of lamb, osso buco, coq au vin — yes, the pressure cooker can be an amazing workhorse in the kitchen.

Food cooks in a pressure cooker in a quarter of the time. So the four-hour beef stew is cooked, tender, and delicious in only one hour. More importantly, the pressure cooker extracts more flavor. So any food cooked on the bone (shanks or shoulder roasts) are much more flavorful when cooked in a pressure cooker. In one hour, I can make a deeply-flavorful chicken stock in the pressure cooker, full of the gelatin extracted from the bones.

One of the most popular uses for a pressure cooker is homemade hummus. Using dried – rather than canned — garbanzo beans (or other beans, I love flageolet hummus) makes the hummus so delicious. Using the pressure cooker to cook the beans makes hummus a breeze to make. Be sure to puree the beans while still warm — then the hummus is silky smooth and not lumpy.

For the holidays, add a cooked beet and the hummus is a beautiful Christmas red!

Hummus

• 4 cups cooked and drained but still warm garbanzo beans
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
• 2 tablespoons salt, or to taste
• 1 cup olive oil
• Finely chopped parsley, for garnish

To cook the beans, place in a pressure cooker and cover with water or stock. Secure the lid. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes. To depressurize, take the pot to the sink and run cold water over the lid. Drain.

Put beans in a food processor or blender while still warm. Add garlic, lemon juice and seasonings; process until smooth. Add the oil slowly while the processor is running to emulsify. Transfer to bowl; garnish with the parsley.