Pressure Cooker Navy Bean Soup

Note from Cheri: My friend and next door neighbor happened to be craving Navy Bean Soup while I was developing our Pressure Cooker tutorial, so I thought, why not? Beans are a perfect match for pressure cooking. The result is this recipe. Luckily, I had a country ham hock in the freezer, left over from our Country Ham tutorial. If you're not so fortunate, you can pick up a smoked ham hock at your grocery store. If you don't know about pressure cooking, check out the tutorial. You're missing out on a quick way to prepare foods that retain more fo their nutritional value.

1 pound navy or white beans, picked over 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 large onion, chopped 1 smoked ham hock 1 carrot, peeled and chopped 1 celery stalk, chopped 2 teaspoons dried oregano 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock salt and pepper to taste

Serves 4 Rinse the beans and soak overnight or use a quick soak method (bring water to a boil, turn off heat and let beans sit for an hour or so before continuing). Heat the oil in the bottom of a pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until light brown - about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, cover and lock the pressure cooker and bring to high pressure over high heat. Lower the heat to stabilize the pressure at high and cook for about 15 minutes. Remove the pressure cooker from heat and release the pressure with a quick release method. Remove the cover and test beans for doneness. If necessary cover and return the pot to pressure and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the ham hock from the soup. Discard the skin and bones. Chop the remaining meat and add it back to the soup. Use a potato masher or the back of a large spoon to slightly mash the beans. You can also use an immersion blender, but be careful not to completely puree the soup - it should be thick and lumpy. Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary. Serve hot.