Minestrone Soup

What better to savor than hot minestrone soup on cold winter nights. Especially when it can be done in less than 30 min hassle free in Insta Pot. Add everything, set IP for 6 min on high and piping hot soup is ready to be savored. Pair it with some garlic bread and you have a filling, quick lunch/dinner. You can pressure cook this too. Same procedure. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Ingredients(for 6 qt IP)

Tomatoes - 10 small-medium( or 15 oz diced tomatoes with juice)

Tomato sauce - 1 can (15 Oz)

Kidney beans - 1/2 cup *see notes 

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Carrots - 2 finely chopped

Celery - 2 sticks - chopped

Zucchini - 1 chopped

Spinach - a big bunch

Shell pasta - 1/2 cup(or any small size pasta) 

Garlic - 2 cloves finely chopped(skipped)

Vegetable broth/ water - 7 cups

Italian seasoning(or just oregano) - 1 tbsp

Pepper 

Salt

Method

If using dry kidney beans soak it overnight. Then add this to IP with sufficient water and cook on Manual high for 15 - 18 min. Original recipe uses canned beans. Start IP on sauté and NPR. Add oil, add finely chopped garlic and onion, sauté for a while, then add the remaining ingredients. However, I started with cooking kidney beans, and in SAUTE mode added onion, tomatoes, and then basically everything in the order given above. I adjusted water according to the size of IP. Close the lid and cook on Manual, High for 6 min. QR(*see notes). Enjoy with some garlic bread/ bread sticks. 

Recipe Source - “https://thebellyrulesthemind.net/instant-pot-minestrone-soup/?fbclid=IwAR3GoLp0vMz3CkyHDXBMxD4Tqsll3U00Ybtf6QVTaHca8ICuTPY9O31YLVQ”

Notes -

• You can use canned kidney beans. 
• Recipe is QR, but when I tried it started to splatter soup everywhere. So I did NPr. As a result vegetables seemed overcooked. Next time I cooked only for 3-4 min and it was good.   
• The above quantity yielded 6qt full of soup(to the brim)
• Same recipe can be done in pressure cooker or stove top too. Just make sure you use cooked/canned beans.