Potato Leek Black Pudding Soup

Instant Pot Leek And Potato Soup – quick and easy to make in an electric pressure cooker. Creamy, flavorful and delicious soup, that requires minimal ingredients and effort to prepare. Perfect for the whole family, made and served year round.

A Fast New Food Fact For You

Did you know that dark meat makes a pale soup taste grand? It is a true and fun fact. Soft white roots need a loud rich crunch. A thick smooth broth needs a dark salt bite. Do you hate a plain bland bowl of mush? I have a great new trick for you today. It solves the sad bland soup trap. It feeds a whole loud house with pure ease. You make a thick wet soup base. You top it with a hot dark crisp meat. It is a grand smart trick. The name of this dish is potato leek black pudding soup. I will use a brand new step path layout for you today. It will make the cook time very fast and clear.

A Need For A Warm Deep Bowl

It was a long cold day last week. The strong March wind blew hard outside. I sat at my home desk for ten long hours. I write food words for my own blog all week. My stiff hands felt very sore and cold. The clock struck six in the dark night. I had a big crave for hot wet food. I wanted a thick warm root soup. But I wanted a rich dark meat bite too. I went to my clean home kitchen. I saw soft yellow roots and long green stalks. I saw a thick tube of dark blood meat. I knew just what to build for my tired mind.

The Basic of Soup

Making soup is one of my favourite things to do.  When I lived in Ireland, I would pretty much make it weekly, and then in winter in NYC, I made it twice a week.  So many flavour combinations to be had, and to me, the best part is the toppings!  More about that later.  Here is what you need to start making any simple soup.

• Onion

The beginning of pretty much all soups.  FYI, I used leeks in this recipe.  I know, I know confusing, BUT they are from the onion family, so I didn’t wanna overload the soup with onion flavour!  Dice the onion and sweat it down for 4-5 minutes in a little butter & oil combo.  Do this on low-medium heat, so you don’t brown/burn them.

• Garlic (optional)

Yes, it is optional, BUT not in my world!  If the recipe says 1 clove, you can pretty much guarantee yourself I’ve thrown an extra one in for good measure.  Crush it up and chuck it in with the onion to sweat. Usually, it’s not great to add garlic too soon when frying food as it will burn and turn bitter, BUT we are cooking this at a lower heat, so it’s just sweating.  Sounds sexy, eh!

• Vegetables

Is it soup without veggies?  Technically yep – search cream of chicken soup, but 99% of all soup recipes will contain vegetables.  At this point, to make a simple soup, I would add the vegetables in.  Allow them to cook off a little in the pan and then chuck in the stock.  There are defo “fancier” ways to make soup like slow-roasting tomatoes in the oven first to bring out the natural sugars and flavor or smoking some squash on your BBQ.  But let’s keep this to the basics for now.

This potato soup is thick and creamy, comforting and perfect to pair with pretty much any meal. French cuisine classic, that has gained a lot of popularity. A few simple steps to follow for an amazing restaurant quality soup made at home. The perfect “made from scratch” cold weather soup.

Don’t own a pressure cooker? Try our Stove top Leek and potato soup instead. The soup can be made in a slow cooker, but it takes longer time.

I’ve been making most of my soups in the Instant pot lately. And this Potato and leek soup is not an exception.

Potatoes could sometimes take forever to cook. I’m the type op person, that will always cook soup on the stove top, because let’s be honest: A lot of soups take only 30 minutes to make on the stove top. Even though a lot of Instant Pot soup recipes say “pressure cook for 10 minutes”, Pressure cookers require between 5 and 15 minutes to reach pressure. Then the pressure float valve will pop up, the Instant Pot will beep and show the minutes you’ve set for cooking.

Ingredients:

• Leeks – leeks are one of the main ingredients in the recipe. It is important that you pick leeks that are nice and dark blue green at the top. The bottom (white part) should be at least 3 inches or 7 cm long at harvest. To prep the leeks you cut off the green part (We are only using the white). Cut off the root as well. Then the half of the white part (the one on the root side), which is pure white, you can slice after washing. The other part (greenish white), you need to peel 1-2 layers, wash and slice. Keep in mind, that leeks are “dirty – have dirt between the layers) and this needs to be thoroughly washed. Cut the white part lengthwise, then wash off the dirt inside and cut into half rings. You can store unwashed leeks wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for 2 weeks or more. These keep well in the fridge.
• Potatoes – what type of potatoes work best for this soup?

Best potatoes for this soup (and for soups in general) are waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold in my opinion. With thin skin, high moisture and not too high starch content, these work for soups, where we need the potatoes to hold their shape or can be blended for creamy soups.

Russet potatoes will work in this recipe, too. Keep in mind that soup made with them will be thicker, because they are more starchy. You may not need cream or half and half in this case.

• Chicken or vegetable stock (depending if the soup is vegan or not)
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Half and half or heavy cream. For dairy free soup, use either coconut (canned) or almond milk. This ingredient is optional for me. The soup hets a lot of creaminess from the potatoes.
• Water + cornstarch to thicken the soup – optional, potatoes are quite starchy
• Toppings

While the original recipe does not include carrots in it, I’ve tried adding a carrot (about 1/3 cup of chopped carrots), when I make this soup for my kids and the result was super delicious.

How long to cook leek and potato soup in the Instant Pot

After you sauté the leeks for 3-5 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients and close the lid of the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes with either natural of quick release.

How to garnish

The type of garnishing you use, depends on the kind of soup you are making. There are two options – vegan or non vegan soup.

For Vegan soup, some toppings could include:

• Hemp hearts
• Nutritional yeast
• Vegan cheese
• Chopped nuts
• Coconut cream (a drizzle of it)
• A drizzle of olive oil
• Chopped herbs
• Spices
• A drizzle of lemon

Remember, the vegan toppings could be consumed by non vegan people.

For non vegan potato and leek soup, the toppings I recommend are: 

• Crumbled bacon
• Parmesan cheese
• A scoop of yogurt or sour cream

How about add-ons? My grandmother once made this soup and added cooked sausage to it. It tasted really good! The soup was also extra filling.

The best way to serve this Instant Pot potato leek soup is with some crusty bread. This No Knead Dutch Oven Bread is my all time favorite.

How to store this soup?

Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat on the stove top or in the microwave. If the soup appears too thick, add a little bit of water to thin it. You may then need to add some more salt/pepper to balance the taste.

My Big Past Kitchen Fail

I try new home foods all the time. But I fail a whole lot too. I must tell you the clear true fact. My first time making this went very wrong. I was in a big rush that sad night. I put the dark meat right in the wet broth. I boiled it all up in one big pot. I used a hand blend tool on all of it. The dark meat fell apart into sad wet sand. It turned the pale green soup a dark mud grey. It looked like dirty wet dish water. It tasted like hot wet rust. I had to throw it in the trash bin. I learned a huge rule that sad day. You must fry the dark meat dry and crisp. You must put it on top at the very end.

The Simple Home Cook Tools

You do not need big fancy chef tools. You just need plain home things. I keep my kitchen tools simple and clean. Too many tools make me feel stressed. A big wet mess makes me feel bad. Here is what I use to make this hot dish. I use these tools for my fast warm meal prep.

My Soup Tool Chart

Time And Cost Food Facts

I love to track my home food math. It helps me save my hard cash. It helps me plan my busy week out. This hot fresh food bowl is a great deal. Look at my math chart below to see. The clear facts show how cheap it is.

My Soup Math Chart

How Does It Taste To Me

Take a small warm bite with a big spoon. Make sure you get a piece of the hot dark meat and the pale wet soup. The thick pale soup is so soft and rich. The mild green onion taste coats your bare tongue. The root starch makes it feel like thick wet dairy cream. Then you bite the hot dark meat. It has a loud hard crunch on the outside edge. The inside is soft and tastes like deep warm earth and rich fat. The sharp salt meat cuts the sweet pale soup down fast. It makes my tired mouth very happy now. It is a perfect smart food match.

What To Eat With The Hot Soup

I love to eat this hot dish with crusty bread. I get a thick slice of sour dough bread. I toast it in a hot dry pan. I rub a raw white garlic clove on the hard crust. I dip the crisp hard bread right in the wet soup. The hard bread soaks up the thick warm broth. It fills your empty stomach up fast. You will feel very warm and safe. A cold glass of dark stout beer goes great with the salt meat too.

How To Save Left Food

I live alone in my home right now. I always have a big pot left over. I save it for my fast lunch time. I eat it the very next day. I let the big pot get fully cold first. I put the cold soup in a clear glass box. I keep the cooked dark meat in a small separate box. Do not put the dark meat in the wet soup box. It will get soft and soggy in the cold dark fridge. I put a tight snap lid on both boxes. I keep them deep in the cold fridge. They will stay very good for four days.

Warm It Up The Next Day

The next day I want my lunch hot. Do not use the fast microwave heat box. The microwave box will make the milk break. It will turn the smooth soup to sad wet lumps. You must use a small pot now. I put a small pot on the stove. I put the cold soup in the pot. I stir it slow on a very low heat. It takes five short minutes to get hot. I put the cold dark meat in a dry hot pan. I fry it fast to make it crisp again. It tastes just as good on day two.

Why I Do Not Buy Tin Can Soup

I want to tell you why I cook. I make this hot dish all by hand. You can buy tin can soup at the big food shop. I do not like to do that at all. The shop food costs a whole lot of hard cash. The tin can soup tastes like old wet metal. It has way too much white salt in it. The dark meat in a tin can is always soft and sad. Making it fresh takes just thirty short minutes of night work. It tastes one hundred times better to me. I know exactly what is in my pure food.

Feed A Big Hungry Crowd

This is a great way to feed folks. You can use this for a big cold winter party. Buy a huge bag of raw soft spuds. Buy three big bunches of fresh green stalks. Buy a giant thick roll of dark salt meat. Cook it in an extra large deep soup pot. Fry a huge pile of the dark coins in two big black pans. Serve it in a huge deep white bowl. Put a big pile of crisp hot bread next to it. Your friends will eat a big huge pile. They will leave with full happy stomachs.

Share It With A Good Friend

This is a fun food for a home party. Your good friends will love it a lot. Folks always like a rich hot wet treat. When they say it tastes grand, you smile. You can tell them the fun pure trick. You can say it is my potato leek black pudding soup. They will ask you for the simple steps. You will show them the crisp dark meat trick. You will be the smart star of the cold winter food night.

My Final Thoughts For Your Kitchen

I hope you like this new page step layout. I want to make cooking very easy for you to do. Go to the food shop and buy the soft roots and dark meat. Bring them home to your clean warm kitchen. Wash the dark sand down the cold sink. Chop the hard roots on your clean wood board. Sweat the green stalks in the hot plant fat. Blend the wet hot broth into a smooth thick cream. Fry the dark coins in a hot dry pan. Eat the warm hot dish with a huge smile. Keep cooking fun simple fresh foods at home. Have a grand sweet day in your clean warm kitchen.