Instapot Black Bean Soup

Yo, these instant pots are crazy. I don't have one, but my mom does, and you basically throw whatever you want into it and in an hour you have a full meal. That's not my style of cooking if you know me at all because it sort of feels like cheating, but a lot of people have them and love them and swear by them so this ones for y'all.

If you read my blog you'll probably also know that I love Bon Appétit. Whenever I am bored, need a recipe or just want to lounge around on the interwebs, I head there to find something interesting to read. I also love the magazine itself - if I am ever on an airplane, I have a Bon Appétit magazine in my bag. I saw this recipe on Instagram and wanted to make it immediately.

I will admit - I learned a good life lesson while cooking this soup. I learned that if you eat beans that are undercooked (previously dry), you can get violently ill! My mom was freaking out about the beans not being cooked enough so I started doing research and apparently you can basically food poison yourself if they're not fully cooked. LESSON LEARNED. The original recipe calls for the soup to cook for just 20 minutes which I think is insane and still am trying to figure out the math on that one. I tripled it to 60 minutes (per my research), which allowed them to cook enough. Thank gawd I didn't spend the evening puking my brains out.

Perhaps in the future I will presoak my beans the day prior to avoid any and all fatalities.

Ingredients:

8 oz slab or thick cut bacon, cut into 1/4 pieces
1 large red onion
2 medium carrots, scrubbed, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, smashed
2 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more
3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, sliced crosswise, liquid reserved, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound dried black beans, rinsed
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Corn chips, cilantro leaves, and lime wedges for serving

Directions:

1. Cook bacon in Instant Pot on sauté setting, stirring occasionally, until browned and most of the fat is released, 6-8 minutes. If using a stovetop pressure cooker, cook bacon over medium-high heat.

2. Meanwhile, cut onion into quarters; set one quarter aside. Coarsely chop remaining onion. Add chopped onion, carrots, and garlic to Instant Pot, season with a big pinch of salt, and cook on sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened but haven't taken on color, 6-8 minutes.

3. Add chiles along with their liquid, adobo sauce, oregano, and cumin to Instant Pot and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beans, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 quarts water. Lock lid and cook soup at high pressure for 60 minutes. Release pressure manually. Taste soup and season with more salt if needed.

4. Meanwhile, thinly slice reserved onion and transfer to a small bowl. Add lime juice and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let sit, tossing occasionally, until ready to use.

5. Using an immersion blender, purée soup in pot until smooth (or, working in batches, purée with a regular blender).

6. Divide soup among bowls. Top with corn chips, cilantro, and drained pickled onions. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.