Vegetarian Borscht with Porcini Pressure Cooker Recipe

Vegetarian Borscht With Porcini Pressure Cooker Recipe

Ingredients

SERVES 6 – Cooker: 5- to 7-quart – Time: 10 minutes at HIGH pressure

• ½ ounce (½ cup) dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 bunch red beets, greens trimmed off and beets peeled and cut into bite-size dice
• 1 large white onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium red or white new potatoes, left unpeeled and diced
• 2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into bite-size dice
• 1 heaping teaspoon dried dill, dried tarragon, or mixed herb blend, such as Italian herbs or Mrs. Dash
• 2 (3- to 4-inch-long) strips orange zest
• ¼ cup dry red wine, such as merlot or pinot noir, or cider vinegar
• 1 (32-ounce) container vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• sea salt
• 1 (16-ounce) container sour cream, imitation sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt, for serving

Method

1. Place the porcini in a small bowl and add the hot water
2. Let soak until softened, about 20 minutes
3. Remove the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, rinse, and chop
4. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer lined with a paper towel or coffee filter into a bowl, reserving the liquid
5. In a 5-to 7-quart pressure cooker, combine the beets, onion, potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, mushrooms, herbs, strips of zest, wine, reserved mushroom liquid, and vegetable broth
6. Add enough water just to cover
7. Plop the tomato paste on top of the vegetables; do not stir it in
8. Bring to a boil
9. Close and lock the lid
10. Set the burner heat to high
11. When the cooker reaches HIGH pressure, reduce the burner heat as low as you can and still maintain HIGH pressure
12. Set a timer to cook for 10 minutes
13. While the soup cooks, rinse the reserved beet greens well and chop
14. Remove the pot from the heat
15. Open the cooker with the Quick Release method
16. Be careful of the steam as you remove the lid
17. Discard the strips of zest
18. Stir in the beet greens
19. Cook over medium heat, uncovered, until they are heated through, about 2 minutes
20. Add the pepper and taste for salt
21. To serve, ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with a big spoonful of cold sour cream
22. Serve immediately
23. Beets can be intimidating to peel, especially if they’re gnarly and hairy
24. Cut off the root end and the stem end, where the greens were attached
25. Starting at the stem end and holding your fingers out of the way, peel the beet in strips from stem to root end

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