[Instant Pot] Vegetarian Lasagna Soup

[theinfamousj]

Craving a lasagna but don't have access to an oven? This soup'll do ya! This recipe can be cooked in a crock pot/slow cooker instead of an Instant Pot if you cook the included lentils a different way. This recipe can be made vegan if you substitute vegan cheese for cow cheese.


INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic or more to taste [substitute 6 cloves of garlic]
• 1 large onion, diced [substitute 1 TBSP dehydrated onion flakes]
• 1 cup green, brown, or unspecified lentils
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
  .
  .
  
• 1 large carrot cut into coins [substitute a package of frozen carrots]
• 1 large zucchini cut into coins [substitute a package of frozen squash or zucchini; my grocery only carries squash]
• 14 oz can tomato sauce
• 14 oz can crushed tomatoes [if your store only has large cans, toss the whole larger can in. this recipe is forgiving]
• small can tomato paste
  .
  .
  
• 2 cubes faux chicken bouillon
• 1 cube faux beef bouillon
• [substitute 3 tsp vegetable bouillon paste - store bought is fine but I am linking to a recipe in case you don't have any for sale at the store near you - for the above two ingredients if you cannot find faux-meat-proclaiming cubes]
• 5 3/4 cups water, divided: 2 cups hot, 2 cups cold, and 1 3/4 cups also cold
  .
  .
  
• 2 Tablespoons (or more) fresh or dried parsley, to taste
• 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning mix [substitute 2 tsp dried basil + 1 tsp dried oregano]
  .
  .
  
• 8 lasagna sheets broken into bite size pieces
• 1 cup/8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese [substitute 6 string cheeses cut into coins]
  .
  .
• 1 cup/8 oz ricotta cheese  and some finely shredded Parmesan cheese to garnish
• parsley and basil to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. If your onion (1) isn't already diced, and your carrot (1) hasn't already been cut into coins, start by dicing the onion and coining the carrot for immediate use into the Instant Pot.
2. Press SAUTE on the Instant Pot and heat the olive oil (2 TBSP) over medium/regular heat. To this add the onion (1, diced). Sauté the onion until softened. Add the minced garlic (1 TBSP) and cook until fragrant. When this has been achieved, press CANCEL. The goal here is to "bloom" the aromatic bulbs so that the overall soup is mellow and umami.
3. Add lentils (1 cup), 1 3/4 cups water, salt (1/2 tsp) and pepper (1/2 tsp). If your carrot (1, coined) is RAW and not from the freezer section, add it to the Instant Pot as well. Now press PRESSURE COOK with regular pressure and set the timer to 15 minutes. Once the cook time is done, allow a natural pressure release on the Instant Pot for 10 minutes, then manually release any remaining steam. Press CANCEL.
   
   While this is happening, open your cubes of faux chicken bouillon (2 cubes) and let them soak in hot water (2 cups) in a separate bowl or dish to make faux chicken broth. This is also a good time to cut the zucchini (1) into coins and break the lasagna sheets (8) into bite sized pieces if you didn't already.
4. Open the Instant Pot and notice if the majority of the moisture is absorbed (it should be). Now, add the zucchini (1, cut into coins) and lasagna sheets (8, broken into bite sized pieces). If using frozen carrots, this is where you would add them.
5. When adding the canned goods, rinse the cans out with small bits of the newly created faux chicken broth which is a lot easier than trying to scrape everything out with a spatula. Add the tomato sauce (14 oz can), crushed tomatoes (14oz can), tomato paste (small can), and the remainder of the faux chicken broth. If your cans need more rinsing, you can also make use of the cold water (2 cups) so long as you make sure to adjust the recipe steps to account for that.
6. Now we're going to add more things! The final water (2 cups, cold), parsley, (2 TBSP or more fresh or dried, to taste), Italian Seasoning mix (1 TBSP), and the faux beef bouillon cube (1).
7. Cover with lid, set the vent to OPEN, and press SLOW COOK until the light is under "Medium" for temperature. Set the cook time to 9 hours. [Editor note: If you need to speed it up, since most of the ingredients are already cooked save the zucchini, it is okay to do so. Set the temperature to "High" and the time for 4 hours.]
   
   While this cooking is taking place, you can take the opportunity to shred the mozzarella (8 oz) if you are using a whole cheese (get that #frugal) or chop your string cheeses into coins.
8. At the end of those 9 hours, press CANCEL. Add the mozzarella (8 oz), stirring into the heat of the sauce to allow it to melt. I put the lid back on and leave it alone for 10 minutes, then give it a good stir, but my way is certainly not the only way.
9. Serve the soup out into bowls and garnish with ricotta (8 oz), Parmesan (shredded), parsley and basil. You may find you wish to sprinkle some salt to taste.

I will also add that snapping lasagna sheets into bite sized pieces is great when in one of those rage days where the destruction of items is cathartic; I think I shall cook this on those days henceforth.

Bibliography time! This recipe was adapted for the Instant Pot from this omnivorous slow cooker recipe. Using lentils instead of meat or any other convenient meat substitute was a brainstorm of yours truly as I stared agog at the price asked of 14 oz of Morningstar Farms faux beef crumbles. After that, I used my favorite bookmarked method of cooking lentils in the Instant Pot to figure out how to get the lentils done in a way that preserves the soup's very essence.