This Hearty Kielbasa and Cabbage Soup starts with thoroughly browning the kielbasa sausage in some olive oil on both sides. This adds a depth of flavor to the broth, both in searing the sausage, and scraping up the “frond” or brown bits in the bottom of the pan. You’ll add the celery, onion and carrot right to the pan after browning and removing the kielbasa, and as they soften, the brown bits will lift and become part of the soup’s flavor.
Ingredients
1¼ lb Smoked Kielbasa, cut in 1” pieces
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
4 cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
2 Carrots, chopped in ½” rounds
1½ cups Celery, chopped in ½” pieces
6 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
1 large Bay Leaf
¼ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
½ teaspoon Thyme
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
½ teaspoon Pepper
1 lb Red Potatoes, cut in 2 1/2” pieces
1 small head Green Cabbage, about 1½ lbs, cut in 2-3” pieces
Preparation:
Turn on the Sauté function. When display reads “Hot” add the kielbasa. Cook until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Remove from pot and set aside. Discard the fat.
Add the olive oil and the onion. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the browned bits up. If they are stubborn, just add a couple small splashes of the broth to loosen them up.
Add the garlic, carrots, and celery. Cook for about 30 seconds, Stirring well.
Add in the broth, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir.
Add the kielbasa back in.
Add potatoes and cabbage. Stir to combine.
Place the lid on the pot and set the Steam Release knob to Sealing (not on Ultra).
Cancel the Sauté function.
Press the Manual (or Pressure Cook) Button, or dial on Ultra. Set time to 4 minutes using the +/- buttons, or dial. High Pressure. It will take several minutes for the pressure to build.
When cook cycle ends, let pot naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Then manually release the remaining pressure by turning the knob to Venting (or push the button on the Ultra). You may want to do this in bursts at first to make sure no soup spews out with the steam!
When the pin in the lid drops. Open and slowly stir the soup. Taste and adjust salt, if needed.
Serve with some crusty bread.
Recipe Notes
By chopping the kielbasa and your vegetables a bit chunkier, they
will be a firmer when pressure cooked.