Potato Leek-i-ty Split Soup (Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup)
I love Potato Leek Soup. If you dig into the 3jamigos archive this soup pops up a couple of times. This is my go-to soup. In the winter, I make a hearty, rustic version with lots of potatoes, smokey bacon, and heavy cream, perfect for a chilly evening. The summer version is lightened with a bit more stock and light cream, pureed so it is silky smooth, and served at room temperature. Both are crazy delicious and proof of the “Versatility of Vichyssoise”.
The hubs called me at work one afternoon last week with that age old question, “What’s for dinner?”. With my long commute, I knew it had to something quick and easy. A salad? stir fry? Quick pasta dish? As ideas popped up in my brain (including restaurant names), I heard Wes say, how about potato leek soup?
Crusty French bread, glass of wine, bowl of soup..I was all in. But, silly, soup takes awhile…wait, hmmm.
Enter the Instant Pot. I have made other soups in my IP. Why not? A quick Google search landed on quite a few recipes for Potato Leek in an Instant Pot. Why didn’t I think of this before?
I saute’ the vegetables in the Instant Pot, added the stock, set the timer to 7 minutes and forgot about it until I heard the beep-beep-beep. Finish with cream and garnish…DONE. How easy is that? Ahhh dinner on the table in less than an hour and only 1 pot to clean. Perfect.
Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 3 large Leeks white part only, cleaned and sliced into rounds(1/8")
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp Flour
- 5-6 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp White Pepper
- 1 lb Gold Potatoes (4-5 spuds if using Yukon Gold, 3 russets) peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
- Garnish
- Chopped Chives
- Sour Cream
- Anything your little heart desires
Instructions
- Press the Sauté button on the Instant Pot. When hot, add the oil and butter.
- Add the onion. Cook until soft, stirring occasionally, approximately 5 minutes. Try not to let it brown. Add leeks, cook for additional 3-4 minutes until the leeks are soft.
- Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, stirring frequently.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onion-leeks mixture and stir. Cook for a minute to get the raw taste out of the flour.
- Stir in the broth. Be sure to dissolve the flour and scrape the bottom of the pot. The Instant Pot senses particles on the bottom and will shut off to prevent burning.
- Add the bay leaf, salt, pepper, and the potatoes. Stir.
- Put the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Press the Manual (or Pressure Cook) button, and the + or - button to choose 7 minutes. then forget about it until the timer goes off.
- When the cooking cycle has ended, let the pot naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Then manually release the remaining steam.
- 10. When the pin in the lid drops, open it and stir the soup. Remove the bay leaf. Then use an immersion blender to puree it. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a blender, pureeing the soup in small batches very carefully.
- 11. Stir in the cream or half and half.
- 12. Taste and adjust salt, if needed.