My Mom's Sweet and Sour Hungarian Soup - VEGANIZED

NOTE: You can replace the black raisins and brown sugar in this recipe with 4 chopped Medjool dates and replace the 1/4 cups of lemon juice with 3 T apple cider vinegar and 1 T lemon juice, if you prefer. Both ways are AWESOME!

This is MY version of my mom's Sweet and Soup Hungarian Cabbage Soup -- veganized and made in the Instant Pot! She never added caraway seeds, but feel free to if you love them. She also didn't have a measured recipe, so I did my best to duplicate this soup, which was my FAVORITE growing up!

1 large onion, diced small
1/2 large green cabbage, chopped into 1/4" ribbons
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Two 15-oz cans salt-free diced tomatoes, with the juice in the can
1/4 cup black raisins
1 T brown sugar (more if needed after tasting)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 T. Better-than-Bouillon No-Beef Base
3-4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or enough to cover the ingredients in the pot)
1/8-1/4 t black pepper (add more if needed after tasting)
1/2-1 t salt (add more if needed after tasting)
1 can of rinsed and drained chickpeas, optional

In the Instant Pot, saute the chopped onion in a little broth until soft and translucent. Add all of the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Set the Instant Pot to 15 minutes on high pressure. When the 15 minutes has counted down, leave the soup WITH THE LID STILL SECURED for another 30 minutes to an hour (or more!) on warm. This soup is best when it has been slowly cooked a long time. After you release the lid, stir and taste the broth. Add more brown sugar if needed. Add salt or black pepper, if desired. The flavor should be RICH and perfectly SWEET and SOUR. Add in a can of rinsed and drained chickpeas, if desired.

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