This soup is tasty, filling, low fat and easy – what more could you want from a soup or indeed any meal? I’ve drawn inspiration from the unparalleled Delia Smith, but have reduced the number of ingredients and significantly simplified the method!
It’s another soup that is perfect for vegans, vegetarians and omnivores alike, so crack on.
“But what about the beans?!” I hear you ask. Yes, you could use canned beans. But dried are much cheaper and maintain a better texture at the end. You’ve got options here. You could soak the dried beans in ample water overnight or, if you’re a bit more time-limited, you can use a quick-soak method in the Instant Pot:
Rinse and drain 250g (1 cup) dried beans. Put in the Instant Pot with 1L water and 1 tsp salt. Set to manual high pressure for 2 minutes. Then leave for 10min to let the pressure release naturally. Drain and rinse the beans and discard the liquid.
Note that whichever method you use, dried beans approximately double in weight once soaked, thus you just need 125g dried beans for the 250g soaked/canned beans for this recipe.
If you’re left with soaked beans that you won’t be using, pop then in a food bag and freeze them flat. Once frozen they will free flow in the bag so you can remove as many as you need and can cook with them from frozen.
For other quick and simple vegan soups try my Instant Pot Middle-Eastern Chickpea and Spinach Soup, Instant Pot Lentil and Lemon Soup or this improbably pleasing Instant Pot Celery and Cashewnut Soup.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 clove garlic, crushed
- 250 g dried black beans soaked in water overnight or using my quick-soak method
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp hot chilli powder
- 30 g fresh coriander (one packet)
- salt & pepper
- 1/2 fresh lime juice
- Heat the olive oil in the Instant Pot using the sauté function set on high. Add the chopped onion and carrot and cook until softened.
- Add the garlic and sauté for one minute further.
- Add all of the rest of the ingredients, except for the coriander. Close the lid, wet the valve to "sealing" and use the "Beans" setting, which will cook the soup on High Pressure for 30 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot beeps to say it's done either open the valve for Quick Pressure Release if you want to proceed immediately or leave the pressure to release naturally if you want to finish the soup later.
- Stir in the coriander and blend the soup with a hand blender or in a liquidiser. Check the seasoning and add salt, pepper and/or lime juice if needed.
- If you're feeling fancy, serve with a swirl of yoghurt (vegan or regular plain yoghurt) or cream.
If you want to make this on the hob then follow the same method but gently simmer for 1.5 hours in a saucepan.
