Pressure Cooker Mushroom Bourguignon

Note: I was sent a copy of The Big Book of Instant Pot Recipes: 240 Must-Try Dishes for Your Multi-Function Cooker for review. Opinions are mine alone.

I’ve mentioned many times before how much I love my multi-cooker. I tend to use it a lot on weekends to help prep meals for the week, but it’s also a life saver on weeknights — you can get a delicious meal that tastes like it’s been cooking all day on the table in 45 minutes or less!

So when I heard about a new cookbook that is going to be published soon (September 24, 2019 to be exact) that has a ton of awesome multi-cooker recipes, I was excited to check it out.

The Big Book of Instant Pot Recipes: 240 Must-Try Dishes for Your Multi-Function Cooker (paid link) by Kristy Bernardo, Emily Sunwell-Vidaurri, Amy Rains, and Stefanie Bundalo contains 240 recipes for every occasion that the authors have adapted for the Instant Pot, and the vast majority of these recipes take less than 45 minutes, making home-cooking and family meal time simple, fast, and delicious for readers of all levels of cooking experience.

Divided into eight thorough chapters, Breakfast, Lunch, Soups and Stews, Pastas, Mains, Sides, Desserts, and Condiments and Sauces, The Big Book of Instant Pot® Recipes offers readers a plethora of healthy dishes that will take less than 45 minutes to prepare and are great for every occasion. Moreover, nearly all the dishes are either vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, or paleo-friendly, accommodating all dietary needs.

I think most people know how great pressure cookers can be for tough cuts of meat, so I wanted to try one of the meatless options in the cookbook. This Pressure Cooker Mushroom Bourguignon is a simplified (and meatless) version of a French classic — typically a beef stew braised in red wine / beef broth.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or margarine to make dairy free)
• 1 (8 oz) container sliced mushrooms
• 1 (8 oz) container whole mushrooms, cut in half
• 1 (4 oz) container gourmet mushroom blend
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
• 1 celery rib, chopped (or kept in larger pieces if you intend to remove)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup beef or vegetable stock, divided
• 1 oz dried mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• cooked egg noodles (optional, substitute mashed potatoes for gluten free)
• fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

To make, add the olive oil and butter to your multi-pot, then press the saute button (and, if required on your multi-cooker, “start”). While waiting for the butter to melt and the oil to heat up, prepare your mushrooms. You can use any mixture of mushrooms you’d like, just be sure to have at least 1 pound (16 oz) of mushrooms (I used ~20 oz mushrooms).

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned, about 15 minutes.

While waiting for the mushrooms to cook, prepare your other vegetables: chop the onion, carrots, and celery, and grate your garlic (or use a garlic press). Note: I do not like the texture of celery, so I keep my pieces large so I can remove them from the dish after it is finished cooking.

When your mushrooms are cooked, add in the onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper to taste, dried thyme and garlic.

Stir to combine and cook for 3 minutes.

Press cancel or off on your multi cooker, then stir in the balsamic vinegar, red wine, water, 1/2 cup of beef or vegetable stock, and dried mushrooms.

Secure the lid to your multi-cooker with the steam vent in the sealed position. Press pressure cook (or manual, depending on your multi-cooker) and set to high pressure. Adjust the time to 9 minutes and press start. Once the unit has reached optimal cooking pressure (~15 minutes), the multi-cooker will beep and start counting down from 9 minutes. You’ll notice that the pressure release valve (red) rises up during this time.

After 9 minutes, quick release the pressure by moving the pressure release value to the release position. Wait for the float valve to drop down before opening your pressure cooker. If removing the celery, remove and discard at this time.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup stock.

Stir the cornstarch slurry into the pot along with the tomato paste. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Serve over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, day old bread, or on its own. Top with parsley, if desired.

I love that mushrooms soak up whatever they are cooked in, while imparting a meatiness to a vegetarian dish.

The dish was nicely balanced and super flavorful. The broth is really tasty, so I strongly suggest serving this with something to help sop up all of that yumminess!

Mushrooms cook down a lot (they are mostly water), so next time I make this, I think I will double the recipe so I can freeze some for a later night.

I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes in this cookbook (there is a recipe for Open-Faced Beef Sandwiches with Smoky Gouda Sauce with my name on it!)