Tomato Meat Sauce with Porcini Mushrooms for a Crowd Pressure Cooker Recipe

Tomato Meat Sauce With Porcini Mushrooms For A Crowd Pressure Cooker Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 10 cups, enough for 3 pounds pasta – Cooker: 8-quart – Time: 20 minutes at HIGH pressure

• ¾ cup dried porcini mushrooms (about ¾ ounce)
• 1 cup hot water
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 large white onion, finely chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
• 3 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes in juice, undrained
• 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons sugar or honey
• ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil (leaves from about ¾ bunch)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
• freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Put the mushrooms in a small bowl and pour the hot water over them
2. Set aside to soak for 20 to 30 minutes
3. Drain, reserving the water
4. Strain the water through a fine mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter and reserve
5. If mushroom pieces are very large, chop them roughly
6. In an 8-quart pressure cooker pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat
7. Add the beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until no longer pink
8. Transfer to a bowl
9. Add the onions and cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 3 minutes
10. Add the garlic and cook until golden, a minute or so
11. Do not let it brown; reduce the heat if necessary
12. Add the tomato paste and cook 1 minute, stirring
13. Add the tomatoes and their juice, tomato sauce, broth, sugar, herbs, and salt
14. Return the beef to the pot and add the mushrooms and 1 cup of their soaking water
15. Close and lock the lid
16. If you like, place a heat diffuser on the burner and the pressure cooker on the diffuser
17. Set the burner heat to high
18. When the cooker reaches HIGH pressure, reduce the burner heat as low as you can and still maintain HIGH pressure
19. Set a timer to cook for 20 minutes
20. Remove the pot from the heat
21. Open the cooker with the Quick Release method
22. Be careful of the steam as you remove the lid
23. Taste the sauce, seasoning it with salt and a few grinds of pepper
24. If you prefer the sauce thicker, simmer, uncovered, to the desired thickness
25. Use or let cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days or in the freezer up to 1 month

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