Cold front came though with rain and temperature dropped. Makes for a great day to make soup and get a little meal prep out of the way. I have been using the Instapot a lot to make larger meals that I can share or store for lazy days.
Potato and Leek soup.
I really like potato and leak soup, and it is very filling when the weather is cool. You can even air fry the skins from the peeled potatoes to make a crispy garnish for the top. The best part is one bundle of leaks and a few potatoes makes a lot of meals for later.
- 1 bundle of leeks about 3 stalks or 4 cups chopped.
- 4 cups of diced potatoes.
- one handful of garlic cloves.
- 6 cups of water
- 1 cup of half and half.
- chicken base.
Add oil to the instapot and start saute mode. Once hot add the Leeks and Garlic and soften slightly. Add potatoes toss in 4 cups water and chicken base ( you can skip this and just add water but may have to add salt, for vegetarian version) run “soup” setting for 10 minutes. Once complete blend with stick blender until smooth and add half and half and/or water to desired consistency.
Chicken and Dumplings.
The instapot makes a quick and easy stock and is a great base for many types of soups. Some chicken things and aromatics makes a quick stock that can be turned into dumplings. I do a simple flour and stock dumpling with no leavening agent. I sometimes cheat and use canned biscuits, but today I rolled out some true dumplings.
- 1 pound of chicken parts. I prefer thighs, but legs can also be used. Dark meat is best.
- 1 onion chopped into desired sizes. I do big chunks.
- Garlic to taste more is better.
- slices of ginger ( that can be easily fished out later)
- 2 bay leaves.
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon of cumin if desired.
- Carrots cut into bite size pieces but uniform in size.
Add Oil to Instapot and heat on saute setting. Add chicken in a single layer and brown lightly to improve stock color, once oil is hot. Turn chicken and cycle through all pieces to ensure uniform color. I leave the skin on until later, but it can be remove before browning, but beware sticking if you do.
Once the chicken is browned add Onions, garlic and spices with all chicken. Add water to cover and cook on pressure cooking setting for approximately 15 minutes. Once this is done release pressure and remove chicken from stock. Remove the bones and skin from the chicken and shred in to bite size pieces. Remove the Ginger and bay leaves, and if you were fancy and used a cheese cloth bouquet garni remove it at this time. Add the chicken chunks back to the pot and make dumplings.
I make simple dumplings with 1 cup of flour a touch of salt, ground pepper, and about 1/2 cup of the stock form the pot. Rolled out on a floured surface. and then cut into squares. Work the dough as little as possible to keep the texture smooth. You can also use canned biscuits cut in to small pieces. Some people add baking powder to get a bit of leavening for lighter dumplings. I prefer the slightly chewy like “al dente” pasta that the simple dumplings provide.
Finally put the instapot on saute one more time add the carrots. This will bring the stock to a boil and cook the carrots for about 5 minutes until the are the desired level of tenderness. Once the carrots are done add the dumplings and cook at a rolling boil until the dumplings float. Remembering to stir to prevent them from sticking to each other or the bottom. You can also add a slurry or other thickening agent if the flour on the dumplings does not thicken the soup as desired.