Instant Pot Turkey (or Chicken) and Chorizo Black Bean Soup

Alrighty then.  Now that you've got your Black Friday Instant Pot and you've made yourself some fabulous turkey (or chicken) stock, and you've got a fridge full of leftover turkey, you are now primed and ready to make this incredibly awesome and very delicious black bean soup.

And the good news is that if you don't have an Instant Pot or homemade stock or leftover turkey, you can still make this soup.  And you should.  

But if you've got your Instant Pot on the counter, you're going to want to take some dried black beans, chorizo, some of that lovely stock (or store-bought), some of your leftover turkey (or some chicken) and a few other ingredients, throw them into your Instant Pot for 40 minutes and have yourself some of the tastiest black bean soup going.  And what makes it so tasty?  Just about everything, but starting your soup from dried black beans means that you're going to get that much more black bean flavor.  Which is, of course, what we're going for here.

But wait, there's more!  Yes, there's more in the form of this citrus-y sour cream topping that takes our soup to a whole new place.  I've mentioned this stuff before, but I keep a little shaker of this True Lime powder on hand for just these moments, although freshly grated lime zest would also be wondrous.  The lime is a fantastic foil for these deeply seasoned, delicious beans and it all comes together with very little time and effort.  And don't we just love that during the holidays.  And all the time, actually.  Here's the recipe...

Instant Pot Turkey or Chicken and Chorizo Black Bean Soup

Click here for a printable recipe

You can certainly make this stovetop without an Instant Pot.  Just use 3 cans of  black beans that have been drained and rinsed and reduce the stock to 4 cups.  Be sure to let the soup simmer long enough to develop some flavor (at least an hour); the longer you let this simmer the more flavor will develop and the thicker your soup will be.  Of course, the IP will make this all ever so much easier.

For the Soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil (I used avocado oil)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoons ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano leaves
6 cups chicken or turkey stock
1 pound (2 1/2 cups) black beans, picked over and rinsed
8 oz Mexican chorizo removed from the casings
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups of cooked shredded chicken or turkey
Cilantro leaves or sliced green onion, for garnish

For the Sour Cream Topping:
1 cup (240ml) sour cream
zest from 1 lime (I used 1/2 teaspoon dried lime powder)
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
Freshly ground black pepper

On the saute function of the Instant Pot, heat the oil and then stir in the onions, chili powder, cumin and oregano and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to soften, about 1 minute.

Add the chorizo to the pan and cook, breaking it into largish pieces with the spoon until browned.

Add the stock, beans, garlic and bay leaves.

Lock the lid in place with the valve to seal. Press the manual button for 40 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, stir together the sour cream with the other topping ingredients and set aside.

Allow the pressure to release naturally and remove the lid,

Stir well. Discard the bay leaves and taste for salt and spice. If you would like it to be spicier, stir in a little chipotle in adobo and then let the soup sit uncovered for a few minutes on the warm setting. 

At this point, the soup won't be real thick.  If you would like it even thicker, place a cup or so of the soup in a blender and puree it and then return it to the pan.  You can also use an immersion blender to partially puree the soup (be careful not to puree it too much.  You want lots of whole black beans in the soup).  If you'd like to reduce the liquid even further, select the saute button and bring the soup up to a good simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let it cool down briefly before you...

Stir in the cooked turkey or chicken, and just before serving.

Top each serving with a scoop of the sour cream mixture and a sprinkling of chopped fresh cilantro and/or sliced green onions.