Name: Instant Pot Minestrone
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 yellow onion, diced; 2 carrots, diced; 2 stalks celery, diced; 1 zucchini, diced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes; 5 cups vegetable broth; 1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed; 1 cup green beans, cut in short pieces; ¾ cup small pasta, like ditalini; ¼ cup grated parmesan, for serving; salt to taste

The fridge cleanout soup

Onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, two kinds of beans. Minestrone is where the vegetables that did not get used all week end up, and it tastes like you planned it that way.

Nothing here is precious. No zucchini? Leave it out. A potato rolling around in the drawer can go in too. The pot does not care, and neither do I.

The pasta cooks last, on purpose

Pressure cook the vegetables and beans for 4 minutes, then let the pot sit for 5 minutes. That rest is a short natural release, where the pressure falls on its own before you vent what is left.

Only then does the pasta go in, simmered on Sauté for about 6 minutes. Pasta cooked under pressure turns soft and swollen. Cooked after, it stays firm and the soup eats like soup.

Instant Pot Minestrone

The fridge cleanout soup

The pasta cooks last, on purpose