Instant Pot Leek and Potato Soup

This leek and potato soup is so simple and rustic, yet it is so flavorful and comforting.

With chunky vegetables and a garlicky broth, this soup is the perfect starter for dinner. You could also serve it for lunch with salad and crusty bread. It's both light and hearty at the same time.

This leek and potato soup is a take on porrusalda, a soup from Spain's Basque region. In fact, porrusalda means leek soup in Basque.

While the traditional leek and potato Spanish soup is simmered for two to three hours, you can achieve that same creamy texture by preparing it in an Instant Pot (affiliate link) in just 3 minutes of sautéing and then just 3 minutes of pressure cooking (not including the time it takes to reach pressure)! It's pretty much miraculous!

If you haven't tried leeks in soups, be sure to try leek and celery root soup too. 

How to prepare this soup in an Instant Pot. 

While Instant Pots (or other electric multi-cookers) are primarily electric pressure cookers, you can also sauté in them, which makes it so easy to cut down on extra pots and pans. Plus, they also have a slow cooker function as well as a yogurt function, which I hear is great for proofing dough (I haven't tried it yet).

To make this soup, you sauté the leeks in the multi-cooker, add all of the rest of the ingredients, set it to pressure cook, and then set the cooking time to 3 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure, at which time the 3 minutes start.

Once the 3 minutes are up, you manually release the pressure. Be sure to read the instructions that come with your machine to prevent burns. I also like to lightly cover the release valve with a dish towel to absorb and diffuse the steam as it is expelled from the pressure cooker.

Tips for making this pressure cooker porrusalda:

You can either peel the Yukon gold potatoes or leave them unpeeled, as I did. Either way is fine. You can also cut the potatoes into chunks, or, if you want to be more Basque-like, you can break the potatoes into irregular chunks to release more starch. Just cut them part way, and then break them with your hands.

Be sure to wash the leeks thoroughly before sautéing them. I like to add them to a salad spinner filled with water after slicing them. Just swirl them with your hand, drain, and spin. You can also do this with a bowl of water and a strainer.

To keep this dish vegetarian, you can substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock. If you want to be totally luxurious, shrimp stock would be amazing in this soup.

For a creamier soup, smash some of the potatoes with a wooden spoon or granny fork after cooking.

In Spain, they often add bits of salt cod when serving this soup. Salt cod is not easy to find here, so I added a few bits of leftover poached cod.

This soup is delicious the day it is made and it also makes delicious leftovers. It gets even creamier over time as the potato starches are released into the broth.

To serve this soup, drizzle it with a little bit of olive oil and a shake of crushed red pepper or a dash of hot sauce.

Welcome to Progressive Eats, our virtual version of a Progressive Dinner Party. This month's theme is Instant Pot Favorites. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, a progressive dinner involves going from house to house, enjoying a different course at each location.

With Progressive Eats it's a virtual party. A theme is chosen each month, members share recipes suitable for a delicious meal or party, and you can hop from blog to blog to check them out. Come along and see all of the delicious Instant Pot dishes!

Instant Pot Favorites

Appetizers

• Instant Pot Salad Nicoise - Mother Would Know
• Instant Pot Leek and Potato Soup - Karen's Kitchen Stories

Main Courses

• Charred Tomato Risotto - The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Pressure Cooker Beef Stew - That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala - SpiceRoots
• Bison Tortilla Soup in the Instant Pot - Shockingly Delicious

Side Dishes

• Instant Pot Creamy Parmesan Brown Rice (Gluten Free) - The Heritage Cook
• Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese with Crispy Bacon - Creative Culinary

Desserts

• Instant Pot Chocolate Custard - The Redhead Baker

Instant Pot Leek and Potato Soup

Yield: 8 servings as an appetizer, 4 servings as a main course

Author: Karen Kerr

This leek and potato soup is so simple and rustic, yet it is so flavorful and comforting.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• 3 large leeks, white and light green parts, sliced lengthwise, and then into 1/2 inch thick widthwise slices, washed and drained
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus more for serving
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups chicken stock or low sodium chicken broth
• 1 small cooked cod fillet (poached, baked, or pan fried), broken into pieces (optional)

Instructions:

1. Using the sauté setting of your Instant Pot, add the olive oil, and heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the leeks and bay leaves and cook for 3 minutes, until the leeks are softened. 
2. Add the potatoes, carrots, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
3. Add 1 to 3 teaspoons of salt, depending on how much salt there is in the broth you will be adding.  If your broth is unsalted, add 3 teaspoons. If your broth is store bought, add 1 teaspoon. 
4. Add 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. 
5. Pour in 5 cups of chicken broth and stir. 
6. Cancel the sauté function and lock the lid of your pressure cooker in place. Turn the valve to the "seal" setting. 
7. Choose pressure cook or manual, and set the pressure on high and the cooking time to 3 minutes. 
8. When the cooking time has finished, manually release the pressure by moving the valve on top to Venting. Press Cancel and carefully remove the lid. 
9. Discard the bay leaves and serve drizzled with olive oil, extra pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. 
10. Add optional cooked cod or other fish. 

Calories
221.05

Fat (grams)
7.44

Sat. Fat (grams)
1.31

Carbs (grams)
27.11

Fiber (grams)
2.64

Net carbs
24.47

Sugar (grams)
4.36

Protein (grams)
12.06

Sodium (milligrams)
298.57

Cholesterol (grams)
16.88

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2020/05/instant-pot-leek-and-potato-soup.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

soup, leeks, potatoes

Soup, appetizer

Spanish, Basque

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Created using The Recipes Generator

This recipe was inspired by my new purchase, Milk Street, Fast and Slow: Instant Pot Cooking at the Speed You Need, along with various Spanish recipe resources on the web.

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