pepperhead212
Executive Chef
Today I made another dish in the Instant Pot; though not a one dish meal, it finished in the IP, and it was started by cooking 3/4 c each of pearl barley and spelt (these cook in about the same time, under pressure), cooked in 4 c of salted water, set on low pressure for 20 min, and released naturally. While doing this, I cooked the pound of sweet Italian sausages and mushrooms my normal way - steamed the pricked sausages in a skillet, then boiled the water off, and browned them in the fat. The washed pound of mushrooms I halved, and steamed in a small amount of water , and boiled that water off, and browned the mushrooms in just a half tb of oil. All this was combined, and set aside; the rehydrated 2¼ oz of dried eggplant (about 1½ lbs equivalent) was drained, and set aside.
After the grains pressure released, I drained them, and set aside. In the rinsed out IP, I sautéed 1 large onion in a few tb olive oil,, adding 1 tb minced garlic, and 2 tb of tomato paste towards the end. I added a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, and 1/2 oz of dried tomatoes, which I rehydrated, and blended with 1 c water. I added about 4 tb flat leaf parsley, 3 tb fresh marjoram, 1 tb fresh Syrian oregano (thyme scented), and a tb of fresh rosemary, all minced, and some crushed red pepper. The eggplant was stirred in, then the lid was sealed, and it was set to 15 min high pressure. I let the pressure release naturally, turned it off, then stirred it briefly, then stirred the sausage and mushrooms in. Then I set it on slow cook, high (basically a slow simmer), for 20 min. I stirred it briefly, then stirred in the grains, and simmered another minute or two. I let it sit, on off, for 10 more min, and then served it, with some grated locatelli cheese.
Rehydrating dried eggplant by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Tomato sauce, with the mushrooms, sausages, and re-hydrated eggplant added, to simmer. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Tomato mix, after simmering 20 minutes, with the cooked barley and spelt added, to simmer briefly. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished gruel, before topping with cheese. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished dish, topped with locatelli by pepperhead212, on Flickr
After the grains pressure released, I drained them, and set aside. In the rinsed out IP, I sautéed 1 large onion in a few tb olive oil,, adding 1 tb minced garlic, and 2 tb of tomato paste towards the end. I added a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, and 1/2 oz of dried tomatoes, which I rehydrated, and blended with 1 c water. I added about 4 tb flat leaf parsley, 3 tb fresh marjoram, 1 tb fresh Syrian oregano (thyme scented), and a tb of fresh rosemary, all minced, and some crushed red pepper. The eggplant was stirred in, then the lid was sealed, and it was set to 15 min high pressure. I let the pressure release naturally, turned it off, then stirred it briefly, then stirred the sausage and mushrooms in. Then I set it on slow cook, high (basically a slow simmer), for 20 min. I stirred it briefly, then stirred in the grains, and simmered another minute or two. I let it sit, on off, for 10 more min, and then served it, with some grated locatelli cheese.
Rehydrating dried eggplant by pepperhead212, on FlickrTomato sauce, with the mushrooms, sausages, and re-hydrated eggplant added, to simmer. by pepperhead212, on FlickrTomato mix, after simmering 20 minutes, with the cooked barley and spelt added, to simmer briefly. by pepperhead212, on FlickrFinished gruel, before topping with cheese. by pepperhead212, on FlickrFinished dish, topped with locatelli by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Last edited:
