Smoked Sausage & White Bean soup (Instant Pot)

     It's finally winter time in Northern California.  After an unseasonably warm fall, the weather is starting to get chilly and the days are growing short.  It makes one want to curl up next to a fire with a good book, comfy clothes, and, of course, a nice hot bowl of soup.
     I first discovered this recipe when somebody shared it on the Instant Pot community Facebook group (I have, of course, joined that group!).  It looked wonderful and delicious and just the thing for lovely winter weather (it almost makes me wish that we had snow here).  After saving the recipe for weeks, I was finally inspired to make it this week as the weather turned cold plus I had most of the ingredients at home.  Here is the recipe:

Smoked Sausage & White Bean Soup, Instant Pot from https://frugalhausfrau.com/2017/11/05/smoked-sausage-white-bean-soup-instant-pot-or-stove-top/

Servings: 8
Time: 1 hr 15 min + time to soak the beans 

Ingredients: 

1 pound white beans, soaked overnight or quick soaked, see notes, below
1 tablespoon olive oil
14 ounces smoked sausage, sliced on bias into 3/8” slices
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, peeled & diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
6  to 6 1/2 cups broth; low sodium vegetable or chicken preferred
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions: 

1) Turn the Instant Pot on to Saute. Add a tablespoon of oil. When hot, add the sausage and cook until slightly browned. Remove sausage from pot and set aside.

2) Add onions and saute until softened, then add in the garlic and stir until garlic is fragrant, a minute or two. Add the carrots & celery.

3) Rinse the beans and add them to the pot, along with thyme, oregano, parsley, bay leaf, broth, salt and pepper and the reserved sausage.

4) Set to Pressure and cook on high for 25 minutes, using the quick release when the time is up. Test several beans; if not tender, replace lid and bring back up to pressure and cook an additional five minutes, again using the quick release.

5) Thicken the soup, if desired, by mashing some of the beans in the pot or remove about a cup of beans and mash to a paste, then stir back into the pot.

Notes:

To soak the beans overnight: Rinse and sort through beans, discarding any damaged beans or debris. Cover with at least two inches of water and let soak for 12 hours or more. Drain and rinse, proceed with recipe.
To quick soak in Instant Pot: Rinse and sort through beans, discarding any damaged beans or debris. Add to Instant Pot along with 2 teaspoons salt and 8 cups water. Set to saute (high) and bring to a boil. Immediately place on lid and lock, use the manual function to set to high pressure and two minutes of time. Drain and rinse, proceed with recipe.

     I mostly made the soup as is.  We used a Kentucky Bourbon sausage instead of a smoked sausage.  This worked just fine and was absolutely delicious.  I did pre-soak my beans overnight in the fridge.  Unfortunately, I put them in what I thought was an adequate sized mason jar but turned out to be too small.  Who knew that the beans would absorb all the water and lodge themselves in the jar?  I've never had such a difficult time getting anything out of a jar!
     The soup, however, was simply amazing.  Savory, hearty, and flavorful.  I loved the contrast between the squishy but not too squishy beans (at the perfect texture) and the firmer sausage.  It goes wonderfully with some bread.  Yum yum yum!  A perfect soup for a fall/winter night!