Soup is recovery food. And boy, do a lot of us feel that for all kinds of reasons. Some of us need to recovery from a busy holiday season filled with all kinds of feelings, both good and bad and otherwise. Some of us had a rough 2024. Others are facing worry and fear about 2025. Still others have managed to pick up the unwanted gift of seasonal colds or worse during our recent season of hanging out with lots of people and sharing germs. I wish you all the healing you need and offer you an excellent soup you can make in your Instant Pot and enjoy for days whilst you recover.
Most kinds of beef roast will work for this. Choose something that will enjoy some pressure cooking and give you chunks of lovely, tender meat in each bite. The mix of vegetables can be tweaked some, but make sure you end up with a blend that gives similar color, texture, and taste. You can add potatoes with the onions and zucchini and skip beans if you'd like. I really prefer carrots, but you could also add frozen peas or green beans instead at the end. You can use regular peppers or skip them entirely - I love the extra flavor offered by roasted red peppers. Keep the tomatoes, but you don't need the sun dried or fire-roasted versions of the tomato paste or diced tomatoes. I just really like how this soup tastes with them.
This soup keeps well. I like to spoon it into quart canning jars and store it in the back of my refrigerator. It lasts a good week and makes it easy to warm up when the mood hits you. I always serve it with bread for dipping or, if I'm feeling fancy, homemade focaccia or a nice sandwich. Here's hoping we all recover in the ways we need and enjoy yummy soup while doing it!
Instant Pot Beef Bulgur Soup
- 2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 small zucchini, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons sun dried tomato paste
- 6 cups stock - beef, chicken, or vegetable all work well
- ½ cup chopped roasted red pepper
- 1 (15.5 oz.) can cannellini beans, drained
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- ⅔ cup bulgur - I used red bulgur
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 carrots, coarsely shredded
Remove all of the visible fat and any silver skin from the roast. Cut into 1-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper.
Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in the bottom of your Instant Pot and set to "Saute". Once hot, work in batches to brown the beef. Place in a bowl once browned; cover to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining beef and transfer to the bowl, keep warm. (For the best flavor, sear the beef over high heat so it browns and forms crusty bits on the bottom of the pot.)
Add the remaining tablespoon of the oil to the now empty Instant Pot. Add the onions and zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until they are softened and the onion starts to brown and caramelize, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme leaves, smoked paprika, and sun fried tomato paste to the vegetables. Sauté for 1 minute or until the garlic is fragrant. Add one cup of broth to deglaze the bottom of the pot scraping up any browned bits.
Add all of the browned beef, remaining stock, roasted red pepper, cannellini beans, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and bulgur to the pot. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to "seal". Cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 20 minutes with a 15 minutes natural release followed by a quick release. Remove the lid when safe.
Stir in the soy sauce and shredded carrots; place the lid back on the Instant Pot for 5 minutes (no need to mess with the setting). Remove any thyme sprigs. Serve hot with your favorite bread for dipping.
- Yields: 6-8 servings
- Preparation Time: 50 minutes