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01/15/2020 11:01 PMIs it just me, or was it more difficult than usual to get back on schedule this year? Both Christmas and New Year’s took place on Wednesdays. My exciting college games were not on New Year’s Day. And then the Patriots played on Saturday. Let’s not even talk about that last one.
At any rate, it left me more often than once trying to remember what day of the week it was.
As the holidays wound down on the weekend after New Year’s Day, I went to a late lunch/early dinner with my friend Pem at Little Pub in Old Saybrook, where we talked about her new instant cooker pot. Pem got hers on my recommendation and that of her editor, Brian Boyd, who is still enjoying using his. We then drove over to St. Paul’s in Old Saybrook for a 4 p.m. concert by the Shoreline Ringers.
I was home by 6-ish, hungry by 8, but still on that intermittent fasting diet, where I don’t eat before 11 a.m. or after 7 p.m. So I went to bed early and began to read Tommy Orange’s novel, There There, for my book club. Then I read the papers. Then I decided to play some more with my Instant Pot. I love this soup. Here is the regular recipe and, in a paragraph at the bottom, is the same recipe for the Instant Pot.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Mushroom Barley Soup
From The 2nd Avenue Deli Cookbook, by Sharon Lebewohl and Rena Bulkin (Villard, New York, 1999)
I am sure the restaurant’s soup is made with homemade chicken stock. I made the stock first, and then used 6 cups of fresh stock and 4 cups of canned stock. It makes a difference. Please email me if you would like that recipe, too.
2/3 cup of barley (I used pearl barley)
8 cups clear chicken or vegetable stock
(buy the unsalted if you can)
3 tablespoons corn oil
3 cups chopped onion
1 pound scrubbed, fresh mushrooms, sliced into small pieces
2 tablespoons finely chopped or crushed fresh garlic
5 large pieces dried mushrooms
(preferably shiitake, but I used porcini)
¾ cup of carrots, chopped into ½-inch pieces
1 cup celery, chopped into ½-inch pieces
½ cup parsnips, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
salt and pepper to taste
Place barley and chicken stock into a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
While stock and barley cook, heat corn oil in a large skillet and sauté onions for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not burn. Add mushrooms and continue to sauté, stirring frequently, until everything is nicely browned. At the last minute, add garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. Turn off heat and set skillet aside. Meanwhile, soak dried mushroom in hot water for 15 minutes to soften. Chop dried mushroom into small pieces.
Add onion/mushroom mixture, dried mushrooms, carrots, celery, parsnips, and a little salt and pepper to the soup. Simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Taste after 1 hour and salt and pepper, to taste.
For the 6-quart Instant Pot: heat the corn oil on Sauté, then add onion for about 4 minutes, stirring. Add mushrooms, garlic, dried mushrooms (if using), carrots, celery, and parsnips, until softened, about 5 minutes. Cancel. Add barley and stock (make sure that your liquid does not go higher than the last level on the pot). Lock the lid and turn on Pressure Cook and turn off the Keep Warm setting. Set timer to 12 minutes. When done, let off the steam with a quick release.