Today I made a batch of mushroom barley soup, and some French bread, to have a piece with it, and sop it up. I had a pound of plain white mushrooms, and I soaked an ounce of boletus, while getting the rest of the ingredients prepared. I started with a large chopped onion, cooked in Instant Pot in EVOO in sauté mode, and after about 5 minutes, added about 2 tsp minced garlic, and a tb of white miso (my substitute for tomato paste), and a generous tb of minced rosemary. After cooking about a minute, I added the boletus and their soaking water, and 1/2 c purple barley, switched the sauté mode to high, and let most of it boil off. Then I added a qt of chicken broth, and 3 c water, corrected the seasonings, covered, and pressure cooked it 25 minutes, and let the pressure release naturally.
While getting this stuff done, I washed, and cut up the mushrooms, then steamed them briefly in a wok, then in just a tb of EVOO, sautéed them for about 7 min, or until the mushrooms are browning. Then I set aside. This was also when I put the bread in to bake.
I added 3/4 c red lentils to the soup, to thicken, then set the IP to slow cook - high, and it was thickened in 20 minutes. After it thickened, I added the cooked mushrooms, switched the slow cook to normal, so it was just keeping it warm, while the bread was cooling.
Some French bread, to eat with the soup. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Mushroom barley soup, with some red lentils added, to thicken. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr