Instant Pot mushroom barley soup, using pressure and slow cook mode.

[pepperhead212]

Definitely a soup day today! I soaked 1 lb of kala chana - black chick peas - overnight, then pressure cooked them for 1 hr, and then it slow cooked another 5 hours, along with all of the other ingredients, but those chickpeas are not falling apart at all!

I rinsed those cooked chickpeas, and put about 1/3 of them in the fridge for a later salad, and then set the IP on high sauté mode, and cooked a large chopped onion in olive oil, until starting to brown, then turned off, and cooked 2 minced garlic cloves and 2 tb tomato paste, in the heat left in the pot. Then I added 3/4 c pearl barley, 1/2 c masoor dal, 1 oz dried boletus, soaked and minced, 6 c chicken broth, and 2 of the boletus soaking water, 1 tb chopped fresh rosemary, 2 fresh bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste. I also added a chunk of parmesan rind from the freezer. This was put on slow cooker mode for 4 hours.

Meanwhile, using the ATK method to cook the mushrooms, I washed and quartered them, then steamed them briefly, then cooked the water off. Then I added 2 tsp oil, and cooked 7 or 8 min, until browning. I put these in the soup for the last half hour - this way, they don't lose all of their flavor into the soup. Last, I stirred in a quarter cup of chopped parsley, and served it with some grated parmesan.
Mushroom, barley, black chickpea, and red lentil soup. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished mushroom soup, with a little grated parmesan. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[pepperhead212]

First time I have cooked much lately, due to all the garden work - just ate small salads and the like, plus those things in my freezer - I put a dent in that! Today, another soup day, with that unusual cold weather, I made a mushroom barley soup; since Aldi had mushrooms on sale this week, I got a pound of them, and made this. It was my basic mushroom barley soup, starting by soaking 3/4 oz dried boletus, which I cleaned the grit out of, minced them up, then used the soaking and cleaning water in the soup. In some ghee in the Instant Pot, I sautéed some onions and carrots, then added some garlic and fresh rosemary, minced together. I also put something non-traditional in, just to use up the last two in the fridge - some baby bok choy, which I diced up, and added at the same time as the garlic. I added the water, and a quart of chicken broth, plus some white miso, and a little light soy sauce, plus a cup of pearl barley, and the minced up boletus. I brought it to the boil on high sauté, then off, then low pressure cooked for 30 min., releasing pressure naturally. While cooking, I washed and cut up the mushrooms, then cooked them using the ATK method, steaming, then browning in a small amount of oil. When the pressure was released, I added 1/4 c of red lentils to the soup, to thicken it, as it was a little thin, then added the mushrooms, and 12 oz. of cooked, shredded turkey, that had been frozen. I adjusted the salt with a little more light soy, added about 20 grinds of black pepper, then I simmered this on slow cook high, for about 15 minutes, at which time it was much thicker, and the lentils had more or less dissolved. Turned out great, and now I have a lot of leftovers for these nice days ahead!
Mushroom barley soup, after adding the mushrooms and the cooked turkey, to cook a while longer. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished mushroom barley soup. by pepperhead212, on Flickr