I love pasta cooked with spices. I once had a very memorable meal in southeast France which was simply baked pasta with ginger, served with a small roast chicken, and it has stayed with me ever since. The combination was the inspiration for this salad.

Method:

• First make the salad dressing. Whisk everything together and season with salt and pepper. Set aside, giving the garlic time to infuse, until you are ready to dress the salad.
• Heat your pressure cooker and add the oil. When hot, add the onion and orzo and toast for 3–4 minutes until the orzo starts to colour. Stir in the spices and pour over 200ml (7 fl oz) of water. Season with salt and pepper.
• Drop in one of the thyme sprigs, put in the chicken thighs, season and add the other thyme sprig. Wrap the beans in foil and place on top of the chicken.
• Close the lid and bring up to high pressure. Adjust the heat so it is just high enough to maintain the pressure, then cook for 5 minutes. Fast release, off the heat.
• Remove the beans and chicken from the cooker and discard the thyme. Give the orzo a quick stir – it will be quite sticky at this point but leave to cool and the grains will soon separate. Shred the chicken.
• Assemble the salad. Arrange the watercress and beans over a platter. Fork through the orzo to separate the grains, then sprinkle it over. Add the chicken and grapes, then drizzle over the salad dressing, discarding the garlic. Finish with the almonds, mint and parsley.

Recipe extracted from Everyday Pressure Cooking (Quadrille)