Seasonal Comforts: Leek and Mushroom Soup

If you've been hanging around this site for a while, you know I'm a big fan of the Instant Pot. A clever appliance brought to us by Canada, this electronic pressure cooker takes a lot of the guesswork traditionally associated with pressure cooking away and replaces it with a pot with a sleek design, lots of options, and a price tag that usually sits well below $100. I use mine 2-3 times most weeks, make homemade yogurt with it, and just outright bid farewell to my old rice cooker. But, as is the case with many appliances, it does some things better than others and on the list of things it's very good at is soups.

This Leek and Mushroom Soup makes the list of my favorite autumn comfort foods and I'll be spending the next couple of weeks sharing some of the recipes that sit on that list. Soups are warm, comforting, and this one's packed with loads of seasonal vegetables. With only a bit of salt and pepper added to the pot, it gets most of its flavor from all those lovely vegetables and the very best chicken broth you can manage. I often make this a day or three after I've roasted a chicken and made stock in my, you guessed it, Instant Pot!

I used pureed celeriac in this recipe instead of celery because I get a bunch of it in my CSA box, puree it in a giant batch, freeze the puree in ice cube makers, and keep the frozen cubes of puree in my freezer to add to ... well, just about every soup, stew, or chili I make! Of course, chopped celery will also work well, I just wanted to share that tip for anyone wondering!

Speaking of freezing, this soup will freeze well if you happen to have leftovers. That said, between digging into it with gusto just after it's made and enjoying leftovers the next day for lunch, my family rarely sees it hit the freezer!