Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup with Horseradish Sour Cream
Creamy, savory potato soup made in the Instant Pot, and flavor-boosted with horseradish sour cream.
Ingredients
for the soup:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 slices thick cut hickory bacon, chopped
- 3 cups chopped leeks, 2 to 3 large leek stalks, white and light green parts only
- 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and sliced into big chunks
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 4 stems fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- lemon juice
for the sour cream:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- pinch of salt
optional toppings:
- reserved bacon bits
- reserved horseradish sour cream
- snipped chives or green onions sliced on the bias
- grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
For the soup:
- Turn on the Saute function on your Instant Pot. Add the olive oil. When the oil begins to shimmer (the Instant Pot might not yet read "Hot" - that's okay), add the bacon. Cook the bacon until crispy, and then remove to a paper-towel-lined plate. Reserve for garnish.
- Add the leeks and turn off the unit*. Saute the leeks, stirring frequently until very soft, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, vegetable broth, 1 cup of water, plus the thyme and bay leaves.
- Secure the lid on the unit, and set the valve to Sealing.
- Press Manual pressure, and adjust the time to 6 minutes. Let the unit come to pressure, cook for the 6 minutes, and then natural release for 15 minutes. Cover valve with a towel and switch it to Venting to release the remaining pressure.
For the Sour Cream:
- While the soup cooks, prepare the sour cream. Add all of the ingredients to a small mixing bowl and whisk well. It will not be perfectly smooth because horseradish is coarse. Taste, and add a little more horseradish, if you'd like extra heat.
Finish the soup:
- Carefully remove the lid, opening it away from you, taking care to watch the drips from the lid. Remove the thyme stems and both bay leaves.
- Add a big pinch of salt to the soup, and use an immersion blender to blend the soup to your preferred texture. Go slowly and stop frequently to scoop out a spoonful of the soup to text for texture (sometimes it's hard to tell just by looking down into the pot).
- In a small mixing bowl, add 1/4 cup of the sour cream, and pour a 1/4 cup of the hot soup over it. Whisk immediately, until smooth. Stir into the soup. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper as necessary. Add splash of lemon juice to enhance the flavors, if necessary.
- Ladle into bowls, and serve with a dollop of the horseradish cream, and your choice of optional toppings.
Notes
*Instant Pots have a tendency to throw a "Burn" message when pressure cooking immediately follows using the saute function. Turning off the unit will cool the inner pot enough to avoid that message. Don't worry - it will still be plenty hot to saute the leeks!