Quinoa Split Pea Soup (pressure cooker)

[Guest guest]

Today I finally gathered to courage to try the pressure cooker that I

bought several years ago. I have this huge fear of pressure cookers,

though the new ones have three sets of failsafe pressure release

mechanisms, so I decided to forge ahead and try it. (Though for awhile

I stood at the other end of the kitchen watching it. :-) )

 

I tried this recipe from Lorna Sass's vegetarian pressure cooker book.

OMG. This is SOOO good! To have delicious soup in 10 minutes (plus

prep time) is unbelievable. I'm going to look for more pressure cooker

recipes. :-)

 

I highly recommend this book. There are quite a few other recipes I

can't wait to try. She also has a non-veg pressure cooker book that I

want to borrow through the library. I hear it has a good kale/potato

soup recipe and I bought a bit bunch of kale today.

 

Quinoa Vegetable Soup (but it should be called Quinoa Split Pea Soup)

 

2 tsp safflower or canola oil

2 tsp finely minced garlic

2 cups coarsely chopped onions (I used 1/2 small onion)

5 cups boiling vegetable stock (I used room temp stock)

2 tblsp tomato paste

generous 1/2cup (1/2 oz) sliced dried mushrooms, soaked if necessary

(omitted)

3 large carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices

3 large celery ribs, diced

1/2 cup dried split peas, picked over and rinsed

1/2 cup quinoa, thoroughly washed and drained

2 large bay leaves

1 tblsp dried dill

 

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Heat the oil in the cooker. Cook the garlic and onion over medium-high

heat, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Stir in the stock, tomato

paste, mushrooms, carrots, celery, split peas, quinoa, bay leaves and dill.

 

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Lower

the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 7 minutes.

Reduce the pressure with a quick-release method. (I used the natural

release method and it was fine.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from

you to allow any excess steam to escape.

 

Remove bay leaves and add salt and pepper. Stir well when serving to

distribute the quinoa, which tends to sink to the bottom.