Broccoli Cheese Soup in a Pressure Cooker

for Aunt Lucille

Be sure you are familiar with your pressure cooker’s manufacturer instruction manual and precautions before using this tool.

This is my third attempt at pressure cooking. I think I solved the problem of that stale, pressure-cooked flavor: use as little liquid as possible (but be careful – read manufacturer’s instructions), be generous with seasonings, and add freshness at the end of the cooking process, off pressure. My pressure cooker has a capacity of 8 quarts (!). This recipe yielded 4 quarts. This wasn’t by design, just how it worked out.

1 large head broccoli, inc. stems, peeled and diced. I probably used about 1½ cups of broccoli.

1 large potato (or 2 if you want it thicker, but you may have to compensate with more liquid.)

1 handful sliced leeks

1 large or 2 small onion, half chopped, half cut into chunks

3 cloves garlic, 1 chopped, 2 cut into chunks

1 stalk celery, cut into chunks

1 carrot, cut into chunks

bacon fat and/or olive oil

½ - 1 inch piece of cheese rind (if available)

3 bay leaves

7 or 8 parsley stems

nutmeg

smoked paprika

½ - ¾ cup cream cheese

1 cup grated cheddar (or other type of) cheese

¼ - ½ Locatelli cheese

¼ - ½ lb. fresh raw spinach, thoroughly washed

1 tsp. mustard. I used truffle, but Dijon or yellow would be fine.

water

salt and pepper

Sauté chopped onions, garlic and leeks in fat or oil over medium heat for 4 minutes or so in the uncovered pressure cooker. Generously season with grated nutmeg, smoked paprika, and s&p. I also like to throw in the bay leaves in at this point. Add the chunks of broccoli stem and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.

Add the broccoli florets, potato, the rest of the onions and garlic, and the celery and carrot. Don’t forget about the cheese rind and parsley stems, more s&p, nutmeg, and smoked pap. Pour in water to cover by about ¼ - ½ inch.

Lid the pressure cooker according to manufacturer’s instruction. Turn the heat to high. Stand back and give it sideways glances until it comes to full pressure, then allow to cook for 5 minutes. I had to turn the burner down to low to maintain the bobble’s “gentle rocking motion” for that period of time.

Remove from heat, and allow to depressurize naturally for a few minutes. When you get impatient with this process, carefully put the whole shebang under cold running water until the pressure locks release.

With great trepidation, take off the lid. Taste and reseason. Be careful; the soup will still be very hot! When you’re satisfied with the flavor for now, remove the bay leaves, any paper from the cheese rind, and any thick parsley stems. Drop in the spinach, mustard, and 1/3 of each of the cheeses. Time to unleash the immersion blender! Woo-hoo!! Add the rest of the cheese in 1 or 2 more installments. Taste again for seasoning and don’t settle for anything less than delicious. Don’t forget that you now have the mustard in your arsenal.

I hope you like this soup cause you’re gonna have a lot of it!

The true test of this recipe will come when I reheat a container of it from freezing. I’m guessing that because it is dairy, this will have to be done lowly and slowly to prevent breaking.