Instant Pot Hamburger Soup

A one-pot soup is one of the most forgiving things you can cook on the elimination phase. Everything you need is in a single bowl: the protein, the vegetables, the broth, the greens. On a day when the daily work of cooking compliant from scratch has worn you down, this is the meal that asks the least and gives the most. It makes about 9 cups, so one round of effort feeds you for several meals. Let that be the point. You do not have to be impressive in the kitchen every day. You have to be fed.

The pot is full of quiet nourishment. Sweet potato is a source of beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, and kale brings vitamin K and folate stirred in at the very end so its color and nutrients hold. A base of long-simmered beef or chicken broth is a source of glycine and collagen, the kind of gut-supportive foundation that suits a body in autoimmune recovery. Nothing here is a cure, and you should not be sold one. It is simply real food, doing steady work.

There is beef in this pot, and a moment of thanks before you cook it does not go amiss. Whole foods raised with some care are not a given, and a hot bowl of soup at the end of a hard day is a genuine comfort. Take the bowl slowly. The earth has got ya.

Ingredients

• 3.5 tbsp coconut oil, divided
• 1 large yellow onion (about 1 lb), chopped
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1.5 tsp sea salt, divided
• 1 sweet potato (about 1 lb), peeled and diced
• 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tsp dried marjoram
• 6 cups chicken or beef broth (Core-compliant; no nightshade or seed-spice)
• 1 bunch kale (6 to 8 oz), stems removed and leaves torn

Method

(Instant Pot, primary)

Set the Instant Pot to Saute and warm some of the coconut oil. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft and lightly golden, about 15 minutes. While the onion cooks, brown the ground beef in a separate skillet with the remaining coconut oil and a little of the salt, breaking it up as it cooks.

Add the diced sweet potato, sliced mushrooms, browned beef, marjoram, the remaining salt, and the broth to the pot with the onion. Seal the lid and pressure cook on manual for 15 minutes.

Quick-release the pressure and open the lid carefully. Stir in the torn kale and let it wilt in the residual heat for a few minutes. Taste and adjust the salt, then ladle into bowls and serve warm.

Stovetop variation

Soften the chopped onion in coconut oil in a large stockpot, then brown the ground beef in the same pot. Add the sweet potato, mushrooms, marjoram, salt, and broth, and simmer about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Take the pot off the heat, stir in the kale, and let it sit for about 5 minutes to wilt before serving.

*Adapted from asquirrelinthekitchen.com*