Instant Pot Chicken & Vegetable Soup

This hearty soup is perfect for those chilly winter evenings and will sort out a cold in no time!

And like all my recipes, it’s super quick and easy to make…

Ingredients

• Olive oil spray
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1/2 a courgette, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1-2 tsp chilli flakes, more or less to taste
• 3 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 whole uncooked skinless chicken breasts
• 3 cups (750ml) chicken broth
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• Juice of half a lemon

Instructions

1. Set the Instant Pot to the Saute setting and spray the bottom with oil. Once hot, add the celery, carrot, onion, and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes then add the courgette, chilli flakes, thyme, oregano, salt and black pepper. Cook for about 2 more minutes.
2. Add the tomato puree, chicken and chicken broth, stir and change the setting to Pressure Cook/Manual (depending which model you have) on high pressure. Seal the lid and set the timer for 12 minutes. Once the time is up, let the pot sit for 10 minutes before manually releasing the pressure.
3. Remove the lid, transfer the chicken breasts onto a plate and shred with two forks.
4. Add them back to the soup along with the parsley and lemon juice. Give it a stir before serving hot and enjoy!

 

Traditional Shepherd’s Pie

This Shepherd’s Pie is a variation of my mother’s, with certain flavours taken from Gordon Ramsay. Gordon is my favourite celebrity chef when it comes to traditional British food, as he always does it so well without adding any unnecessary, fussy ingredients.

I actually cooked this for my boyfriend’s parents, and it went down very well!

Ingredients:

• 1 kg lean lamb mince
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 carrots, grated
• 3 sticks celery, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 250 ml chicken stock
• 150 ml red wine
• Large dash of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper

For the mashed potato topping:

• 1 kg potatoes
• 100g butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 50g parmesan cheese, grated
• Bit of olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method:

Heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

Filling:

1. Fry the mince in a large pan (there is no need to use oil as there’s enough fat in the mince – even if it’s lean). Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until browned.
2. Add the garlic, onions, carrot and celery and stir into the meat until softened.
3. Add Worcestershire sauce, then add tomato puree and stir through until melted.
4. Pour in wine and simmer until it has reduced to half, then add the stock and bring to the boil again before reducing to a simmer. Add the thyme and rosemary and leave to simmer for 10-15 mins.

Topping:

1. Boil the potatoes until tender.
2. Drain and add the butter, yolks, seasoning and the cheese.
3. Mash all together until smooth.

Evenly put the mince into a large wide casserole dish and then top with the mashed potato topping using a dessert sized spoon (so that you only add small amounts at a time being careful not to let any bits sink into the meat too far). Spread out the potato gently using a fork, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over some more herbs. You can also sprinkle with more cheese if you like.

Bake in the oven for about 18 mins or until the top is crispy and the meat is bubbling.

Serve and enjoy!