Ingredients:
1 small unsmoked gammon joint (for making stock) or three ham stock cubes
1 large onion
1 leek
A large knob of salted butter
2 large carrots
250g of red lentils (must be red)
Black pepper
Instructions:
You need stock. So, cubes or not? This is the question. A gammon joint is your best bet if you want to make your own stock, and then you can tear up the ultra-tender meat that results and put in the soup or serve it alongside, à la reestit mutton tattie soup. This is where your Instant Pot can help.
Put a small unsmoked gammon joint in the pot, and fill it up to the safety line with water. Press button ‘stew’. Once at pressure, this should cook for about half an hour, but when the machine pings, give it another half an hour. Check the tenderness. If not tender, another half an hour. You’re still ahead of the three hours of simmering it would otherwise take.
Or just dissolve three ham stock cubes in 1.5 litres of boiling water from the kettle. Which is what I tend to do.
You’ll need to have cleaned out your Instant Pot from making your stock, if you have taken that tortuous route and are using it on its soup setting. Anyway, start with a big ordinary pan, or use the “browning” setting on your IP.
Chop the onion and leek finely and soften with the butter in said pan over a low heat. Grate the (cleaned) carrots into this, and mix it all up, continuing to heat.
Clean the lentils in cold water (there’s nothing worse than gritty soup) then add to the pan. Mix. Add your hot stock, whatever its origins. Mix again.You can then transfer the lot to your Instant Pot If it’s not already in there being browned, and press the ‘soup’ button, or cook on the stovetop for about half an hour, or until the lentils have gone Peerie Shop Café creamy. If it comes out of the Instant Pot too thin, reduce on the stove.
Sup and enjoy, in the full knowledge that it will taste even better the next day if left out and covered. Unless a mouse somehow makes its way under the lid. That’s never good.