Looking to add big flavour to your soups, stews and stocks? It starts with a mirepoix, the simple combination of onions, carrots and celery you'll see in many of the recipes here on Best Recipes Ever. If you've ever chopped onion, celery and carrots, sometimes cooking them in a bit of oil or butter until the onion is translucent, before adding the rest of the ingredients - then you've made a mirepoix!
A mirepoix works through infusion. Onions, carrots and celery are all highly aromatic vegetables that release ample flavour when heated. Together, they're the perfect combination to provide a subtle yet distinctive depth of flavour to dishes.
The ratio between the three vegetables can vary, with the common being one onion to two ribs of celery and two carrots, or equal parts across the board. An important thing to remember is carrots sweeten as they cook, to a point that might overwhelm your dish. If your carrots are extra large, you may want to use just one. Sometimes herbs or garlic are added for extra flavour.
The onion, celery and carrot combination of mirepoix originated in French cooking, but a similar technique with different ingredients can be found in other cuisines. In Cajun cooking for example, carrots are replaced by green peppers to create what is known as the 'holy trinity,' proving big flavour to many Cajun dishes in much the same manner.
Test out the power of a mirepoix in any of these tested-till-perfect dishes:
Chicken Fricot
Bolognese Beef Sauce
Meat-and-Potato Lovers' Shepherd's Pie
Meal-in-a-Bowl Mushroom Barley Soup
Osso Buco
Spaghetti and Meatball Soup
Terrific Turkey Stock
