On Sunday I made a new version of one of my favorites - the mushroom barley soup. The first cooking I did since starting all those cookies!

I started by soaking some dried boletus, then got to the initial cooking of the barley. Started with a diced onion in some olive oil, in the Instant Pot on Sauté mode, then added 4 cloves of garlic, minced with about a tb of fresh rosemary and a few leaves of sage, and after they cook a minute, I added a qt of beef broth, and 3 c water, and a tb of dark soy sauce ( more later). I added 3/4 c barley, and 1/3 c toor dal, set it on Manual/15 min., and let it reduce naturally.
While cooking, I cleaned up the boletus and chopped it, and strained the soaking and cleaning liquid, and let the two cook quickly, while cleaning and slicing the fresh mushrooms. Then I put them in the pan, covered a few minutes to steam them, then boiled it off, and added a tb of olive oil, and sautéed 6 or 7 min. Got the greens ready in the meantime, and the potato and butternut squash - part of one from 2023, believe it or not! when I uncovered the barley, it was still a little thin, so I added the mushrooms, greens, potato, and squash, and added a couple tb of masoor dal, just to thicken it a little. I adjusted the salt, with another bit of soy, covered, and set to Manual/8 min, and let it reduce naturally. The barley, and the veggies were done perfectly after that. But it thickened greatly when chilled overnight, so I had to thin the leftovers a lot.
The finished mushrooms, to go in with the potatoes and butternut. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Some diced red potatoes, and butternut squash, from '23, ready to go into the soup, with the mushrooms, for the second cooking. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Two kinds of Mizuna, from the hydro. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
About 2 cups of Mizuna, to go into the mushroom barley soup, for the last cooking. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished soup, ready to serve. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
A bowl of the mushroom, barley, potato, and butternut soup, with a little Asiago grated on it. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr