Ingredients

Ingredient
Mirepoix or Soffrito image

Mirepoix or Soffrito

Mirepoix technically is not an ingredient, but it is a true building block in French cuisine. Many dishes start with mirepoix. Soffrito is the Italian equivalent of mirepoix. The standard ingredients for a mirepoix are onion, carrot and celery.

Mirepoix or Soffrito forms the basis for many dishes, such as stews or soups. The classic ratio is 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot and 1 part celery.

The mirepoix is gently cooked in some olive oil. Do not brown the vegetables! The slow cooking process brings out the sweetness in the vegetable mix.

Many recipes call for tomato paste at this point. If that is the case in your recipe, add the tomato paste, stir through the vegetables en gently fry the mixture for a few more minutes. This will take the edge off the paste and bring out a sweeter flavor.

The diced vegetables will slowly disintegrate later in the cooking process. So, depending on the planned cooking time, you adjust the size of the dice.

Recipes that use mirepoix or soffrito: