Alexis Mersel - WS Instant Pot Soups: Nourishing Recipes for Every Season

SOUPS

INSTANT POT

ALEXIS MERSEL

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

ERIN SCOTT

ALEXIS MERSEL

CONTENTS

Winter Root Vegetable Soup ()

Chicken, Escarole & Parmesan ()

Soup is arguably the worlds most perfect food. It is nourishing, warming, and filling, and the flavor combinations for this meal in a bowl are countless. I have always loved making soup, but before the Instant Pot came into my life, I didn't prepare it as often as I would have liked. It was either an hours-long affairsimmering a whole chicken on the stove on a Sunday afternoonor a last-minute weeknight dinnerthrowing whatever leftovers I could find in the fridge into some stock from the freezer. Now Im cooking soups from scratch in record time (Im obsessed with the 30-minute Whole Chicken Soup on ) every night of the week.

From classics like Carrot-Ginger (), this book is packed with more than 70 soup recipes in every style and flavor and to suit every season. Whether youre a first-time Instant Pot user or a pressure-cooking pro looking for new ideas, there is something here for you. You can personalize these soups and stews to your own taste by swapping in alternative ingredients. Try spinach for kale, chickpeas for cannellini beans, pepper Jack for Monterey Jack. And dont forget the toppings! A sprinkling of fresh herbs, a drizzle of sour cream, a scattering of crumbled baconan inspired garnish can make everyday soup something special.

Ive been a champion of my electric pressure cooker for a while, which led me to develop and write the first two titles in this series, Everyday Instant Pot and Healthy Instant Pot . Focusing on just soups and stews has been an exciting and interesting challenge, and I discover new things every day. Before you dive into this collection of fast, flavorful, and fun recipes, take time to understand how the pot works (see the primer on ) is ready in a fraction of the time it would take on the stove, and makes all the difference. Experiment with a few recipes from each chapter to start building your repertoire. This book has everything youll need to become a pro in no time.

Bon apptit!

SOUPS ON!

INSTANT POT

PRIMER

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The tightly sealed pot boils liquid quickly, then traps the steam and generates pressure. With pressure cooking, heat is evenly, deeply, and quickly distributed. The Instant Pot is available in a selection of models and sizes, each with slightly different cooking features and programs. A general rule of thumb regarding size is if youre primarily cooking for 4 to 6 people, a model with a 6-quart (6-L) capacity should be sufficient. If youre feeding a crowd of 8 or more, a pot with an 8-quart (8-L) capacity is a better choice. The recipes in this book were developed and tested using the Duo Plus 6-Quart Instant Pot. If youve just purchased an Instant Pot, read the user manual first to get comfortable with your models parts, buttons, settings, and indicator lights.

FUNCTIONS & SETTINGS

Each model has slightly different cooking features, with up to eighteen distinct cooking programs to choose from, depending on the model. You can essentially saut, sear, steam, simmer, slow cook, pressure cook, and braise in this machine. Since not all the models have all the settings, most of the recipes in this book rely on just two functions, Pressure Cook (Manual on some older models), which is a

pressure setting, and Saut, a non-pressure setting. Many recipes call for both functions, either starting with a saut step followed by pressure cooking, or pressure cooking first and then finishing on the Saut function. It might seem like a lot of fuss, but once you get the hang of it, it wont feel that way at all. Just think about all the time and effort you will be saving by not having to transfer food from pot to pot or stove to oven and back again!

Most models have several settings specific to a type of food, such as Soup/Broth, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Cake, Egg, Rice, Multigrain, Porridge, and Yogurt. These functions have automatic programs set to the amount of time and pressure level needed for most dishes in the respective category, but you can adjust them as needed. Experiment using these programs to make the recipes you cook often, and soon some of your households most popular dishes will be set-and-forget meals. Some models have a Sterilize function as well, which is handy for sterilizing bottles and jars easily and efficiently, though only the Max line of pots is safe for pressure canning. The Max also has a Sous Vide function, altitude adjustments, automated steam release, and a touch-screen interface.

INSTANT POT PRIMER

Welcome to a new world of fast, even, flavorful cooking. The Instant Pot cuts cooking times to a fraction of whats typical, so traditionally long-simmered dishes are ready in record time. Soups come together in minutes, not hours, making a cozy weekend favorite possible any night of the week.

Chicken Enchilada Stew()

INSTANT POT

PRIMER

Saut: This function allows you to sear meat, simmer stock, reduce liquid, and more, similar to how you use a saut pan on the stove. It has three modes: Less is ideal for cooking bacon or other foods that might stick; Normal is best for simmering, thickening, and reducing liquids; and More is handy for browning meat. The timer on this function is automatically set for 30 minutes, but in the rare case when you might need it on for longer than that, just press the Saut button again after it has shut off and continue cooking. Never put the locking lid on while using this function.

Pressure Cook: There are two levels for pressure cooking, High and Low. Most recipes call for the High setting. The low setting can be used for delicate foods like fish or eggs. Press the Pressure Level key or Adjust key (depending on your model) to adjust pressure levels, and the + and - keys to change the cooking time. (The Lux 6-in-1 V3 model does not have a low-pressure setting.)