It's my favorite time of year (minus the frigid cold, the claustrophobic lack of daylight, and the dearth of fresh produce), when cooking sites compile round-ups of the year's most popular recipes. The 2017 list on NYT Cooking features Julia Moskin's wildly popular Best Black Bean Soup. It's a stove-top recipe, but since it uses dry beans (rather than canned or soaked), I thought it'd be a perfect candidate for the Instant Pot.
The flavors are excellent: the soup isn't sludgy or starchy (thanks to minimal puréeing of the beans); there's smoky heat from the chipotles in adobo and jalapeños, which is balanced out by the cool creaminess of avocado and sour cream. So the actual ingredient list is almost exactly the same as the original—the directions are simply adapted for pressure cooking. If you only have a stove, pay a visit to the original recipe (though be warned that most commenters recommend soaking the beans overnight before cooking the soup). Or just get a f*cking Instant Pot, already.
PRESSURE COOKER BLACK BEAN SOUP
Adapted from The New York Times
SERVINGS: 10 | TIME: 1.5 hours
WHAT YOU NEED
FOR THE SOUP
- 1 small can of chipotle chiles in adobo
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 onions (yellow or red is fine), peeled and diced finely
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced finely
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup red wine (this adds good flavor complexity, but if you don't have any, you can use a cup of chicken stock and a teaspoon or so of red wine vinegar)
- 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1 pound dry black beans
- 2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 bay leaves
FOR THE PICKLED ONIONS & GARNISHES
- 1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced (a mandoline makes this a 30-second job)
- Juice of 1-2 limes
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Cilantro leaves for garnish (whole or chopped)
- Scallions, chopped
- Thiny sliced fresh chiles (jalapeños, fresno, whatever you find at the market)
- Sliced avocado
HOW TO MAKE IT
- Empty the can of chipotles into the blender, and purée until smooth. Scrape into a container and set aside—you'll only be using 2-3 teaspoons of it. (Save the remainder in the fridge to use as a sauce with your eggs, sandwiches, in stews, or anything else you can think of.)
- In a very large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic, and cook, stirring, until softened, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Pour in wine and let simmer until most of the liquid evaporates and the pan is almost dry. Add the chopped jalapeños and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes. Dollop 2 or 3 teaspoons of the chipotle purée (depending on the level of heat and smokiness desired) and stir into the veggies.
- Scrape the pot's contents into your pressure cooker (or Instant Pot). Add beans, stock, dried oregano, cumin, and bay leaves.
- Set the pressure cooker on HIGH, for 40 minutes. Release pressure naturally (not quick release).
- While you wait for the soup to cook, make the pickled onions. Combine the sliced onions, lime juice, and a light sprinkling of salt. Let soften at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water (if you leave them in the lime juice, the onions' color will bleed); squeeze dry in paper towels and store in fridge until ready to serve. You can chop them before serving if you prefer.
- Once you can open the pressure cooker, check the texture of the soup and adjust to desired consistency. If it's too thin, you can take a cup of the soup out to blend, and stir it back into the soup. (Or if you have an immersion blender, stick it directly into the soup to blend, but be conservative as you want to keep most beans in tact.) The soup will thicken a lot as it sits, so keep that in mind.
- Adjust seasonings with salt, pepper, and chipotle purée.
- Serve in deep bowls, garnishing with sour cream/yogurt, pickled onions, cilantro, sliced avocado, and sliced chiles. Sprinkle scallions on top.