Beef Barley Vegetable Soup in the Instant Pot

So far I have hesitated to jump on the bandwagon and add Instant Pot recipes to my blog. Why you ask? Not really sure. I think because I didn't grow up with pressure cookers and it's taken me a bit of time to get comfy with them, even though we bought one a year ago and haven't looked back. We love ours and use it 2-3 times a week at minimum (today we've used it 3 times already...a new record!) Am I an expert on the subject? Hells no but I'm willing to test it out and try new things. So far I am impressed! Love that almost everything can be done in one pot (less clean up time!) Love the flavours...seem more intensified but maybe I am biased???? And it is super easy to use. We love our hard boiled eggs, our Chana Masala, our cooked beans, our Garlic Mashed Potatoes, our Steel Cut Oats Porridge, our Curry Chicken, our hummus, our rice, our Cilantro Lime Chicken with Lentils.  But I still have some friends who have had theirs almost as long and haven't used it out of fear and trepidation. I hope that I can allay their Instant Pot Anxiety (talking to you Nicole and Tica)... if I can do it, you can certainly do it too! 

I bought this particular cookbook, "Dinner in an Instant" by Melissa Clark, around the same time I bought our InstaPot (as I like to refer to it.) The recipes aren't necessarily quick as one would come to expect in an Instant Pot, but they are definitely decadent and delicious. My favourites are the Garlic Mashed Potatoes as well as the Chana Masala (with the great suggestion to save the chickpea water as stock for other recipes. Genius!) Have made both on many many occasions. Love. There is an abundance of great looking recipes in this book... Korean Chile-Braised Brisket? Yes please! Pretty sure this will be next on my list to try out. But today being about -20C something, I decided a nice, flavourful, hearty soup would be in order: Beef Barley Vegetable Soup. Spot on. I made a few alterations as I didn't necessarily have all the ingredients on hand. Despite this: Soul Warming Soup Perfection. 

To all those who took the plunge to buy an Instant Pot but need an extra little nudge to take it out of the box AND try it out: It's ok friend. You got this.

Cheers from Bistro 164

Beef Barley Vegetable Soup

from "Dinner in an Instant" by Melissa Clark

Skill Level: Pretty Dang Easy

Servings: 4-6

Time: 1 1/2 hrs

Taste: Warm and Cozy on a -20 C day

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs beef stewing meat, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup dry red wine (not sure if it was dry but we fortouitously had some red wine on hand ;-)

2 cups quartered cremini mushrooms (I didn't have any so I used a tin of canned mushrooms and added them in when I added the beef back in)

4 shallots, thinly sliced (also didn't have this so I used a quarter of a sweet onion that I had in the crisper)

3 carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces

3 celery stalks, diced

3/4 cup pearl barley 

2 sprigs of thyme (unfortunately I didn't have this either....would have been a nice add in)

2 bay leaves

1 quart beef or chicken stock (which is 946 mL for those of us using the metric system...thank god for Google Search...)

2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley (also didn't have...who does the shopping around here anyway?! Slackers!)

Sherry vinegar, to taste (I don't even know what this is or where to find it...)

Salt and pepper

Directions

Season the beef with some salt and pepper . Turn on the saute function on the Instant Pot (preferably high), heat up the oil and then add in the cubed beef. Work in batches and brown the meat on all sides. Should take about 2-3 minutes per side. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked/browned beef to a separate bowl.

Pour the red wine into the pot to deglaze it. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the yummy and tasty bits at the bottom of the pot. Let the liquid reduce by half. Should take about 2-3 minutes or so.

Add in the mushrooms, shallots, carrots and celery and mix well. Season with some salt and pepper. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, until the veggies begin to soften up.  Add in the beef and its juices.

Add in the barley, thyme, bay leaves, and stock. Cover and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes; then release the pressure manually.  Throw out the bay leaves and the sprigs of thyme. Add more salt and pepper if needed. 

Serve into bowls and garnish with parsley and a sprinkle of sherry vinegar.