Saturday, February 7, 2009

Barley Soup - using a pressure cooker


Barley Soup (using a pressure cooker)
On my comfort-needing day, I also made barley soup, another real comfort measure. You may have noticed that I make it quite frequently, and that is indeed so, because it is one of my favorites. I thought I would share the recipe with you, in case you ever need to be comforted.
Onions, two cups chopped
Some olive oil
Garlic, about 6 cloves sliced thinly (you can see that I like garlic and onions)
Carrots, about one cup sliced thinly
Celery, about two cups sliced thinly
Mushrooms, in this case, two portobellos
Spinach, about two cups chopped
½ cup pearl barley
Six cups hot vegetable broth*
Salt, pepper, herbs of your choice (I used basil today – very comforting)
A few little tomatoes cut in half (not necessary, of course – I just had them on hand.)
Fry the onions and garlic in a few tablespoons of olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the mushrooms and give them a few turns. Add the carrots and celery, and give them a few stirs. Stir in the barley. Add the hot broth, the spinach and the tomatoes if you are using them. Add the pepper and herb du jour.
Bring it to full pressure, cook on full pressure for 18 minutes. Let it cool naturally. It’s not quite a meal in minutes, but almost.
(*look in the Kosher department for nice vegetarian broth mixes)

6 comments:

FuguesStateKnits said...

It's getting colder and darker here in "merlin" some three hours ahead of Seattle - and that soup looks sooooooo good!
Joan

Unknown said...

I love garlic and onions and pressure cookers. Just replaced mine. Great cooking item. Who can live without one?

joannamauselina said...

Colin, Many people think they can live without one, but they are mistaken. A pressure cooker is a wonder. I was frightened of them till Becca and Tom acclimated me.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I remember the first time I use done and the thing on top started to whizz round and hiss. It terrified me and I got on the phone to someone to ask them what to do. It was then I found out it was supposed to do that!

joannamauselina said...

That's funny! My mother used to make us go out in the yard to play while she used it, so I was terrified at first too. I think this was her sense of drama rather than her sense of family safety at work.