Sunday, January 29, 2017

Creamy Potato Soup in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker


My hubby gave me an Instant Pot pressure cooker for Christmas.  I stared at the box for 2 weeks before I even opened it because I didn't know what to do with it.  All I really needed to do was look online because when I did, I found tons of recipes to make using my pressure cooker.  And then I started finding friends who swear that it is the only way they cook now.  This recipe came from one of those friends.  The soup was incredibly flavorful, which is one of the things that people say about cooking with a pressure cooker.  I would be curious to try it in a slow cooker, or on the stove to see if it had as good of a flavor.  My entire family ate it and liked it!  Winner!

Creamy Potato Soup
adapted from: instantpot.com

1 onion, diced
2 slices bacon
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp. oil
1 c. chicken broth
2 1/2 pounds of potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes (I guessed on the amount)
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
a dash of red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
2 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. heavy cream (or use evaporated milk)
salt and pepper to taste

I am going to give the instructions just as my friend gave them to me.  If you make this using a slow cooker or on the stove, I'm sure you can figure it out.
1.  Press Saute on Instant Pot.  Add onion, bacon, garlic and oil.  Stir while sauteing for 3-4 minutes.  Do not walk away or this will burn.
2.  Add 1 c. of chicken broth, potatoes, carrots, celery, parsley, red pepper flakes, and Italian Seasoning.  Stir.  Place the lid on the pot, press Steam button and set minutes to 10.  (It takes about 10 minutes to come to pressure and then cooks for 10 minutes)
3.  When it beeps, do a quick pressure release.  Remove the bacon and discard (I didn't discard it. We just cut it into bite-sized pieces, then put it back in at the end).  Add 2 cups of chicken broth and the heavy cream.  Insert a handheld blender and run it on short bursts until it has a creamy consistency that you like, but make sure to leave chunks of potatoes.  Don't puree it all.  Add salt and pepper to taste, stirring gently to incorporate.