Mushroom Barley Soup, 2 ways

Fall - soup in my house!!  Which one to make?????  Depends on what I will be doing in the morning at home, and when I arrive at CZA!!!!  Either way, both recipes are good!  Enjoy!

Mushroom Barley Soup for Stove

(From Epicurious Magazine)

Ingredients:1/2 stick butter
1 pound mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large carrots, chopped
2 large celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup pearl barley, rinsed
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
8 cups canned vegetable or beef broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dillweed

Procedure:
Melt butter in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.


Add mushrooms, carrots, celery, onion and barley.


Sauté until vegetables begin to brown, about 20 minutes.

Add flour to pot and stir 5 minutes.


Gradually mix in broth.

Bring soup to boil, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer until barley is tender and soup is beginning to thicken, about 40 minutes.

Mix in parsley and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mushroom Barley Soup for Pressure Cooker

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

about 1 cup - 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ¼- inch dice, or sliced 1/4" thin 

3 cloves garlic, smashed 

16 ounces mushrooms, sliced - you can use an egg slicer to speed this up

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped (or a good 1/4 t, dried)

1/3 cup sherry 

3/4 cup pearl barley
1 bay leaf 

5-6 cups chicken broth (or beef)

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (about 5 sprigs)

Procedure:

Place the butter into the cooking pot of the Pressure Cooker. 

Select sauté - when butter begins to sizzle, stir the chopped onions into the pot and sauté for about a minute or 2, until onions start getting soft. 

Stir in the carrots and sauté vegetables for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and lightly golden. 

Stir in garlic, sliced mushrooms, salt, and thyme. Sauté until mushrooms release most of their moisture and the garlic becomes aromatic, about 5 minutes. 

Add sherry to the pot and cook until liquid is evaporated. 

Add barley, bay leaf and 5 c chicken broth to the pot. 

Lock lid into place. Select High Pressure. Set timer to 10 minutes. 

Use the Natural Release Method to release all pressure. 

Remove and discard bay leaf. Stir in pepper.  Add more broth if mixture is too thick for your taste.

Adjust seasoning to taste. Stir in chopped parsley. 

For an extra kick, stir in 2 additional tablespoons of sherry.

This week's recipe detective is Julie S, with an assist from Dawn: