Pressure Cooker Ham and Bean Soup

 From Dad Cooks Dinner

1 pound dried navy beans, sorted and rinsed

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, cut into ½ inch dice

2 cloves garlic, sliced

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

1 ½ pounds smoked ham hocks (or a hambone and some leftover ham)

8 cups water

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Minced parsley for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Sort and rinse the beans: Sort the navy beans, removing broken beans, stones, or dirt clods. Rinse the beans and set aside.

Saute the aromatics: Heat the butter in the pressure cooker pot over medium-high heat until it stops foaming. Add the onion, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Saute until the onions are softened and browning around the edges, about 8 minutes.

Pressure cook the beans: Drain the navy beans, rinse, and add to the pressure cooker. Set the ham hocks on top of the beans, then pour the water over everything. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, and cook at high pressure for 30 minutes in an electric PC, or 26 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure release naturally, about 20 minutes. Remove the lid carefully, opening away from you - even when it’s not under pressure, the steam in the cooker is very hot.

Shred the ham hock, season, and serve: Remove the ham hock from the pot with a slotted spoon or tongs, and set aside to cool. Ladle 2 cups of beans into a blender and puree the beans, then stir back into the pot. (I use my stick blender for this step.) When the ham is cool enough to handle, shred it, then stir the ham back into the pot. Stir in the fresh ground black pepper. Now, taste the soup, and add salt until the soup tastes sweet and full of body, and you can just feel the taste of salt on the tip of your tongue. (I needed 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to get the taste I wanted.) Serve with a sprinkle of minced parsley on each bowl.