Minestra di Fagioli (Bean Soup)

Modified by Elli for the Instant Pot from a recipe on Tablet.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Great Northern beans ((you can add some chickpeas too!)
or your choice of beans. White, Northern etc.
1 large onion (diced)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 large carrot (peeled and cut into 3/4-inch-thick rounds)
1 large tomato (several cherry tomatoes, or 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste)
or
1 can Diced tomatoes ( with juice)
4 cups Vegetable broth ((Chicken or Beef broth also works))
2 cups 7 oz. uncooked maltagliati, ditalini, or gramigna pasta
Optional: 1/2 bunch Swiss chard (stemmed and sliced into ribbons)
Optional: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Optional: 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Optional: Baked Meatballs or cooked ground beef ((Meatball recipe in notes below))
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions:

Soak the beans overnight in cold water in a soup pot. Drain the beans and replace the water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for an hour, skimming off any froth that forms.
or
Place 1 lb of dry beans in the Instant Pot.
Add 8 cups of water and diced onion.
Add 2 or 3 cloves peeled garlic, optional : 1 bay leaf
Add 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
Don’t skip the olive oil. This helps reduce foam during cooking, which could clog the pressure valve on the pressure cooker.
Cook beans at high pressure for the 40 minutes. The pressure cooker will take 15 to 20 minutes to come to full pressure before cooking begins.
Once cooking is complete, you can let the pressure release naturally on its own, which takes about another 40 minutes, or you can do a “quick release” by opening the pressure valve on the top of the pressure cooker.
If doing a rapid release, protect your hands from the steam with oven mitts or use a long-handled spoon to manipulate the pressure valve. If you notice a lot of foamy liquid coming out stop the QR and wait a few more minutes.
I recommend letting the pressure release naturally for as long as you’re able before the beans are needed. This helps the beans retain their shape.
Carefully drain into a colander, rinse well (optional – I don’t), and put the beans back in the Instant Pot.
Skip all the above if using canned beans.
Add the onions, garlic, carrot, and the broth.
Add the tomatoes.
Secure the lid and Pressure cook for 15 minutes.
Let the IP NPR (natural pressure release) for at least 10 minutes then you can either wait for NPR to finish or you can then do a QR (quick release) depending on how much of a hurry you’re in to eat this amazing soup!
After release, carefully open the IP and add the pasta to the soup. Allow to cook for 10-12 minutes to desired doneness. Note: You may have to add some more broth or water after the pasta has cooked as it WILL soak up some liquid as it cooks.
If not ready to eat just yet, when you are ready to serve, reheat the soup and add chard to soup to cook for a few minutes.
Optional: Stir in the butter and Parmesan cheese.
Taste and be ready to season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Serve sprinkled with the parsley.