Meat, Vegetable, & Rice Soup

This is the kind of soul-warming soup that usually takes all afternoon, here sped up with a pressure cooker.

It starts the way the best soups do: with a soup bone. The bone and diced meat pressure-cook with onion, tomatoes, green pepper, and garlic, drawing all that rich, beefy flavor into the broth in about 20 minutes instead of hours.

Once the first round is done and the bone is pulled, the rest goes in: corn, okra, rice, and a little cayenne for warmth.

A second quick pressure cycle cooks the rice and finishes the vegetables, the okra also lending its natural body to thicken the soup slightly.

The result is a thick, hearty, vegetable-packed soup with tender rice and meat, the kind of frugal, use-what-you-have meal that tastes like it simmered all day.

Kitchen Tips

• Let the pressure drop naturally after the first cook, as the recipe directs, so the broth stays clear and the meat stays tender.
• Add the rice with the second batch so it cooks through without turning to mush.
• Skim any fat off the broth after removing the bone for a cleaner soup.

Variations

• Use any beef soup meat, or swap in leftover roast or stew beef.
• Add carrots, celery, green beans, or potatoes for more vegetables.
• Make it on the stovetop instead; just simmer the bone and meat one to two hours before adding the rest.