Precious cookers and Conecuh's

My favorite kitchen tool varies from week to week, but there are a few that reign supreme.  At the top of the list is my pressure cooker.  I was quite terrified by pressure cookers from the experience of seeing hot apple sauce spew over my mother when she opened one too soon.  But I was reintroduced to them  by my French mother, Hedwige Clayeux.   With her 3-burner stove buried under the eaves of her steep rooftop apartment on the Rue des Grands Augustins, she would whip up mustard rabbit stew in her pressure cooker that left us all begging for more. Pressure cookers have changed and are now reliable and safe. 

Fast forward 25 years and I use my pressure cooker at least 3 times a week, to make my own chicken broth, a stew, some mole turkey, and last night my Conecuh sausage bean soup. What a discovery to find I can make a bean soup from dry beans in 15 minutes! There are endless possibilities for variations on the general theme of sauteed aromatics, broth, root vegetables, beans and any sausage with a big flavor, like my current favorite from Alabama: hickory smoked Conecuh!

Winter Sausage Bean Soup

1 cup dried beans (I used soldier)
4 cups water
Bring beans and water to high pressure for 3 minutes.  De-pressurize the cooker.  You can drain off some bean water and add broth as needed for best consistency and flavor.

Aromatics
onion, garlic, carrots, celery, red or ancho pepper
Saute in vegetable oil before adding to the soup pot

Root vegetables (cubed): about 1 c. each, or 3 C. total
Rutabaga, winter squash (butternut, acorn, etc)
Winter greens like kale are also good.

1 lb. or more of smoked sausage (Conecuh, kielbasa) (or less if you use andouille, chorizo)

4 c. Chicken broth
1 c. crushed tomatoes

Herbs and spices:
cumin, bay leaf, thyme, ground pepper
1 chipoltle pepper in adobo, seeded and finely chopped

Add all ingredients to the soup pot.  Cook at high pressure for 12 minutes.**
De-pressurize with quick release method and enjoy with a quick salad and a glass of wine.

** You can also add some chopped cabbage at the end and just cook covered for a few minutes to soften. 

For an Italian version of this soup, substitute hot Italian sausage (browned), fennel instead of celery, celery root (diced), zucchini and/or eggplant.