Grab your chicken thighs and sprinkle ¾ teaspoons kosher salt all over them. You can do this part up to two days in advance, and keep the chicken covered in the fridge.

Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot. Add your fat of choice / oil.

When the fat is shimmering, add the onions, carrots, and mushrooms, and a ½ teaspoon salt.

Sauté the vegetables until the softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and tomato paste, and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Add the salted chicken, cherry tomatoes and green olives to the pot.

Give it all a good stir.

Turn off the sauté function, and lock the lid on the pressure cooker.

I position my Instant Pot under my stovetop exhaust vent before I program the pressure cooking so that when the chicken’s done and I immediately release the pressure, the vent will suck up all the steam. Your kitchen cabinets will thank you. (Stick a cutting board underneath your cooker if your stovetop grates aren’t even—and remember not to turn on your stove!)

If you’re using an Instant Pot, press the “Manual” button and set the cooking time to 7 minutes for chicken breasts (if your chicken boobs are bigger than 8 ounces each, you can cut them in half or increase the cooking time to 9 minutes) and 10 minutes for thighs. Bone-in thighs will take 15 minutes to cook under high pressure.

When the chicken is finished cooking, turn on the stovetop exhaust fan before turning the pressure cooker valve to release the steam.

Remove the lid right away to prevent overcooking. Add the freshly cracked black pepper and adjust the seasoning with additional salt as needed.

If you want a thicker gravy, remove the chicken and blend up the vegetables and cooking liquid with an immersion blender.

Stir in the fresh herbs, and serve immediately.

Wondering what to serve with this? This stew tastes great ladled over cauliflower rice or garlic cauliflower mashed “potatoes.”