Ham and pumpkin soup

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Australian

Keyword: instant pot, winter

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 10

Pressure release: 20

Total Time: 40

Servings: people

Calories: 377kcal

Author: Gabby Campbell

Equipment

Instant pot (though this can be made on the stove top too)
Stick blender

Ingredients

1.4 kg butternut pumpkin, chopped into chunks (about 2.5cm / 1 inch)
1 leek, thinly sliced
200 g ham off the bone (roughly chopped)
1 ham hock
3-4 cups chicken stock (use 3 if you want a thick soup, 4 if you like it thinner)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 Tbsp fresh sage (finely chopped)
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt*
Pepper to taste
Toppings of choice. Aside from the ham hock meat I added garlic croutons and a little extra sage that I'd pan-fried in olive oil.

Instructions

Press the sauté button on the instant pot and set the timer to 10 minutes. Add in one tablespoon of olive oil and once warm, add in the chopped ham slices. Cook for a few minutes until just starting to brown. Remove and set aside.
Add remaining olive oil to the pot, then the leek and sauté until softened (3-4mins). If the bottom of your instant pot is very browned from cooking the ham, the leek will help lift this.
Stir in the garlic, cumin, chopped sage plus salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute more to let the spices release their aroma.
Add in the chopped pumpkin, and toss it through the leek and spices to coat. Now add chicken stock and reserved ham, and give it all a quick stir.
Nestle the ham hock down into the pumpkin as best you can. Put the lid on the instant pot and select pressure cook. Set the timer for 10 minutes.
Once the timer goes off, hit cancel and let the pressure release naturally. This should take about 20 minutes, if it's not done by then manually release the remaining pressure.
Take out ham hock, allow to cool briefly while you whizz up the soup in the pot using a stick blender. Once done shred any meat on the hock with two forks to use as a garnish.
Serve the ham and pumpkin soup then top with the shredded meat plus any other toppings of your choice. I used garlic croutons and pan-fried a little sage in olive oil.

Notes

* If you've used homemade chicken stock this should be a perfect amount of salt. If you're using a store bought stock that is not salt reduced you may find this too much. In this instance perhaps start with 1/2 tsp salt. You can add the other half once the cooking is done if you feel it still needs more on tasting.

Nutrition