Pressure Cooker Potato Quinoa Soup

Quinoa Potato Soup with toasted 7 Grain Bread

     I love my pressure cooker and I love to make soups in the pressure cooker.  Making soups in the pressure cooker can be fast and easy and the soups taste great.  Pressure cooking  forces the flavors to expand and speeds up the process in making the meats tender and the grains ready to eat faster.  

   This is the first soup in my Pressure Cooker Soup Series for the winter.  I will share with you some of my favorite recipes in the Pressure Cooker and I will throw in some great bread recipes.  Soup and fresh baked bread can be a gourmet experience,  I think the ultimate experience in food can be as simple as fresh baked bread and a really good soup.  So join me and please if you don't have one yet order your pressure cooker.  You can order it at www.chefbrad.com.   

To make this soup you need some large potatoes.  Peeled and cleaned.  I have a large boneless pork chop that I smoked,  I chopped up small and added it to the soup.   I started with pork in the pressure cooker with some olive oil while I was starting working on the other ingredients.

 



   Potatoes peeled, cut, and ready to cook.

This is the pork in the pot with oil.   It was already smoked and just needed a couple of minutes cooking before I added the potatoes on top.  The pork was already cooked so it will work in six minutes with the potatoes.  Chicken breast would work also, but I would sauté them first and cut the chicken in small pieces.

Next I added the quinoa and vegetable stock.  You can use red, white, or black quinoa.  The reason I use quinoa in this soup is that it takes six minutes to cook.  Just as long as the potatoes.  You can use another grain but it needs to be cooked first.  Another six minutes will not hurt a grain like cooked barley or kamut.

Next I added chopped parsley, frozen sweet corn and toasted onion powder.

   Salt and pepper.   Never under estimate the power of salt and pepper.  Salt is a natural flavor enhancement.  I use only Redmonds Natural Kosher Sea Salt.

    My mother made the best potato soup.  Simple,  potatoes, canned milk, butter, and salt and pepper.  Canned milk is amazing for soups.   This recipe in fact is a souped up rendition of her classic potato soup.  I always keep canned milk in my pantry.  Potatoes and canned milk are the base of a great comfort food.

This is a stove top pressure cooker.  I use both,  the stove top or electric.  Just depends on the mood I am in.

After six minutes in the pressure cooker I add the butter and canned milk.  Let it simmer and enjoy.

Oh so good and filling.  It does not get any better.  

Potato Quinoa Soup

3 large potaoes, peeled and chopped in 1/4 inch pieces
1 large smoked pork chop, optional,  sausage would be great
2 cups quinoa, white, red, or black
8 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon toasted onion powder,  I use penzeys
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 cube or stick butter
2 cans evaporated milk
2 tablespoons chopped parsley  

In pressure cooker place oil and chopped pork chop.   Suate while peeling potatoes.   Add potatoes, quinoa, stock, onion powder, parsley, salt and pepper.   Bring to boil and place lid on pressure cooker. Cook on high for 6 minutes.  After 6 minutes, remove lid and add canned milk and butter.  Simmer for a few minutes.  If you like it thicker, you can thicken it with a rue.  

Serve with toast and garnish with sliced avocados.   

Enjoy,  Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy