Over the past few months I have been putting my Instant Pot to work. I make bone broth a few times weekly and enough soup to serve daily. The time saving benefits of owning a pressure cooker are immense. Having homemade broth always on hand enables our family to have a delicious bowl of soup each night either as the main event or served as a side. Using homemade broth as the base; the basic steps are 1) sauté veggies in a healthy fat 2) add desired spices and 3) top with broth.  The average cooking time is anywhere between 6-10 minutes! I’ll often use whatever fresh ingredients I have in my fridge that day.  It’s surprising how quickly a satisfying and wholesome meal can come together.

To make a soup into the main dish, after the soup has finished cooking, I will add in left over pastured chicken or previously cooked grass-fed beef. Any leftover protein will work. It’s also incredibly easy to drop in some fresh seafood. For seafood, you will want to gently ladle it into your hot cooked soup and utilize the simmer function. I let my seafood cook for around 5 minutes, making sure not to overcook. For items like clams, I leave in the simmering soup until the shells open.

After your soup has finished cooking, it’s also an excellent time to add in some fresh chopped greens.  I love adding chopped kale, collard greens or watercress.  Drop your choice of greens into your soup, swirl and serve.

By now, you’ve probably all heard the benefits of consuming homemade bone broth from pastured/grass fed bones. I have been making a huge effort to increase my broth intake (along with healthy fats, fresh greens and protein from pastured animals) to support healing.

Consuming healing bone broth is much easier as a base for a delicious homemade soup then trying to drink a cup of it. Homemade stock adds such depth and complexity to soup. If you haven’t started making your own soups yet, today is the day.  You’ll never reach for that can of sodium laden, flavourless canned soup again.

Today I’m sharing a mixed mushroom soup recipe. This recipe explores the different flavour profiles of three different mushrooms.  If you don’t have an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker, there is no need to skip this recipe as you can pull out your Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot.  Sauté all the veggies, add the spices and top with your broth and then simmer for around 20 minutes.

If you haven’t started making your own broth yet, water can be substituted but the liquid will be missing that desired complexity that broth adds. You may be able to find a suitable broth at your local health store but be diligent to look over the ingredients carefully.

Healing Mushroom Soup

•  1 box sliced white mushrooms (226 grams)
• 1/2 box Shtik mushrooms (226 grams), stems removed, end discarded and stems chopped
• 100 grams Enoki mushrooms (Half of a small bag)
• One medium white onion, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 carrot, sliced into thin circles or chopped into cubes
• Small handful watercress, chopped
• Bone broth to reach the 6 cup mark on the inside of the Instapot
• 3 tbsp lard or heat stable fat of choice
• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 fresh bay leafs
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp honey
• 1-2 tbsp collagen* (optional)
• Juice from half of a lime
• Unrefined salt to taste

*Collagen Hydrolysate (Green container if using Great Lakes brand)

Method:

1. Plug in the Instant Pot and press the “Sauté” function.
2. Add your fat of choice, onions, carrots and celery to the pot and sauté until they begin to soften and turn translucent.  Add a generous pinch of unrefined salt to bring out flavours and release juices.
3. After five minutes, add the white mushrooms and continue to cook until soft, 5 more minutes.
4. Once the veggies are soft, add the garlic and ginger, stir and cook for a minute or two until fragrant.
5. Add the fish sauce, bay leafs and spices and combine well.
6. Add the remaining mushrooms to the pot, Shiitake and Enoki
7. Pour in the broth to the 6 cup mark and gently stir to combine.
8. Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button to stop the sauté mode.
9. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock the lid.  Twist the steam release handle on the lid to “Sealing”. 
10. Press the “manual” button to switch the cooking mode.  Set the cooking time for 7 minutes.  Note that the soup will be cooking for longer than seven minutes as it takes time for the pressure cooker to reach desired pressure.  The seven minute timer will start once proper pressure is achieved.
11. Once the soup is done cooking the Instant Pot will automatically switch to the “Keep Warm” mode and will signal done with beeps.  Once you hear the beeps, the soup has cooked for the full seven minutes at full pressure. Let the soup remain in the “Keep Warm” mode for 10 minutes and then press “Cancel.”
12. Twist the steam release handle on the lid to “Venting”.  I always put on my oven mitt as a precaution as a small amount of steam will escape from the venting hole.
13. Once the pressure has released, carefully open the Instant Pot.
14. Stir in the honey and the juice of half of a fresh lime.
15. Taste for seasoning.  Add more unrefined salt (if needed)
16. Add in collagen powder, if using, to add extra protein.
17. Gently stir in the chopped watercress and let sit for one minute.
18. Ladle soup into bowls.  If you are trying to increase you healthy fats, stir in one tbsp to each bowl of either grass fed butter, coconut oil, pastured lard or ghee prior to serving.