Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

The week after my birthday is always a kind of exhale — the celebration is behind me, the candles are blown out, the tres leches is eaten, and what remains is the ordinary machinery of a life that does not stop being extraordinary just because the party is over. I am fifty-four. I have been fifty-four for seven days. The number sits on me like a new coat that fits perfectly but still feels new, still needs breaking in. Eduardo says I look the same as I did at thirty. Eduardo is a liar, but he is my liar, and I keep him.

At the hospital this week, the fall menu is fully operational. The soups are warm, the salads have switched from summer greens to heartier autumn combinations — kale and roasted butternut squash, which the patients receive with the mixed enthusiasm of people who know vegetables are good for them but would prefer pie. I made a batch of sofrito on Tuesday for the house — the big batch, the one that fills eight ice cube trays, the one that Mami taught me and Abuela Consuelo taught Mami and that I will teach whoever in this family has the patience to stand at a cutting board for ninety minutes and chop recao until their fingers smell like the island.

Rosa called on Wednesday. The wedding is three weeks away. Three weeks. She is calm in the way that Rosa is calm, which is to say she is not calm at all but she is performing calm with the conviction of a woman who teaches twenty-five third-graders and has learned that the appearance of control is ninety percent of control. The dress fits. The venue is booked. The food — my food, all of it, every plate, every tostón — is planned and mapped and timed to the minute. Carlos called separately to ask if I needed help. I said, Carlos, you are marrying my daughter. Your only job is to show up, say the words, and eat the food. He said, Yes, Doña Carmen. He is learning.

Sofía is in her second year at the community college, studying pre-nursing prerequisites. She comes home on Tuesdays and Thursdays smelling like the biology lab and carrying textbooks that weigh more than Lucas, who is sixteen months old and has figured out that the word 'no' is hilarious when applied to everything his grandmother offers him. No to the tostón. No to the rice. No to the beans. Yes — always yes — to the flan. My grandson has taste. Questionable boundaries, but excellent taste.

The sofrito was already done — eight trays in the freezer, Mami’s recipe, the smell of recao still on my hands — and the hospital fall menu had me thinking in soup all week, so when I got home Tuesday night I did not want to stand at the stove for another hour. I wanted something that honored the season and the warmth I was already carrying but let the pressure cooker do the heavy lifting. This chicken enchilada soup is what I made. It is bold and deeply flavored and it comes together faster than Rosa can tell me the wedding timeline has not changed when I know very well it has changed twice since Sunday. I have been making it since the first real cold snap, and I will keep making it until spring reminds me I have other options.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 oz) red enchilada sauce
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 oz cream cheese, cubed and softened
Toppings: shredded cheddar, sour cream, sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, tortilla strips

Instructions

Layer the base. Add the onion, garlic, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, green chiles, enchilada sauce, and chicken broth to the pressure cooker insert. Stir to combine.
Add the chicken and spices. Nestle the chicken breasts into the liquid. Sprinkle the cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper evenly over the top.
Pressure cook. Seal the lid and set the pressure cooker to High for 18 minutes. Allow a natural pressure release for 5 minutes, then carefully do a quick release for any remaining pressure.
Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and stir to combine.
Add the cream cheese. Drop the cubed cream cheese into the hot soup and stir until fully melted and incorporated, about 2—3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream, avocado slices, fresh cilantro, and tortilla strips. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup — The Soup I Make When the Season Finally Turns