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Ingredients
Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post
Think of this as your flexible soup-season template: In about a half-hour of mostly hands-off time, you have a bright, velvety pureed soup using most any firm vegetable (or combination) you can think of, along with coconut milk for a touch of richness. While the Instant Pot is doing its thing, you can put together a quick garnish. This recipe was tested using a 6-quart Instant Pot; the volume and amount of liquid are enough for it to work in an 8-quart model, but you’ll want to halve it for a 3-quart model.
Active time: 10 mins ; Total time: 30 mins
Storage Notes: The soup can be refrigerated for up to 1 week and frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw and reheat gently on the stove top.
When you scale a recipe, keep in mind that cooking times and temperatures, pan sizes and seasonings may be affected, so adjust accordingly. Also, amounts listed in the directions will not reflect the changes made to ingredient amounts.
Tested size: 4-6 servings; makes 7 to 8 cups
In an Instant Pot combine the vegetables, coconut milk, water, onion, garlic, lime juice, ginger and salt. Close the lid. Make sure the steam valve is sealed. Select PRESSURE (HIGH) and set to 10 minutes. (It takes about 10 minutes for the appliance to come to pressure before cooking begins.)
Release the pressure manually by moving the pressure-release handle to “Venting,” covering your hand with a towel or hot pad. Never put your hands or face near the vent when it's releasing steam.
Use an immersion (stick) blender to puree the soup until smooth. (Alternately, you can puree the soup in batches in a blender: To prevent splatters, be careful to not fill it more than halfway, remove the center ring from the lid, and hold a kitchen towel over the lid as you blend.) Reheat if needed by returning the soup to the Instant Pot and heating on SAUTE. Taste, and add more salt and/or lime juice if needed.
Divide the soup among serving bowls, add about 1/3 cup garnishes of your choice to each bowl, grind black pepper on top and serve hot.
VARIATIONS: Here are some possibilities for vegetables and garnishes that work well with them:
Double Celery
1 1/2 pounds celery root, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
8 ounces (5 to 6 ribs) celery, cut into 1-inch chunks
Garnish: Chopped celery and leaves, toasted baguette croutons
Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts
1 1/4 pound head broccoli, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks (stem cut into 1/4-inch slices)
12 ounces Brussels sprouts
Garnish: Shredded Brussels sprouts and whole leaves; roasted chickpeas
Beet-Carrot
1 1/4 pounds beets, scrubbed but not peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
12 ounces carrots, scrubbed but not peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
Garnish: Thinly sliced beet greens plus any whole small leaves; finely chopped carrots; drizzle of coconut milk
Winter Squash
2 pounds acorn, butternut or other winter squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
Garnish: Pumpkin seeds, cilantro or parsley, chopped roasted red pepper
From food editor Joe Yonan.
Tested by Joe Yonan.
Email questions to the Food Section.
Email questions to the Food Section at food@washpost.com.
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Rate this recipe
Ingredients are too variable for a meaningful analysis.
