Anyway, I have been busy making soups almost every week, and I got to thinking about why so many recipes call for the “onion, carrot, and celery” base.
Different cuisines have different names and ratios of this base:
- Cajun Holy Trinity includes onions, green bell pepper, and celery.
- Italian Soffritto uses the same base as mirepoix except the items are minced and sauteed in olive oil.
- Spanish Soffritto uses tomatoes, onion, garlic, and green pepper chopped, cooked in Spanish olive oil.
- German Suppengruen is usually a mixture of carrots, leeks, and celery root but can also have other root vegetables.
Most cuisines will have aromatic ingredients for the foundation of various dishes.
How to make a mirepoix
- All items will need to be chopped or diced for your dish. The size of the pieces will depend on how long the dish will be cooked. For short-cooked dishes, smaller pieces work best; and for medium-cooked dishes, medium-sized pieces will be best. For stocks, the pieces can be left fairly large as they will be strained out and cooked for longer times.
- Next heat the butter (or other fat) over medium-low heat.
- Add the vegetables, stir occasionally but the vegetables should not brown. They should be soft and translucent. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are done sautéing, continue with your recipe. Pretty simple and these combinations add great flavor to your soups or dishes.
Along with the flavor are many health benefits:
Onions are a very good source of vitamin C, B6, biotin, chromium, and dietary fiber; and they are a good source of folic acid, vitamin B1 and K. The healing benefits of onions include decreased blood lipid levels, prevent clot formation, lower blood pressure, and blood-sugar-lowering action. Onions have been historically used to treat asthma and provide a healing effect for atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer. They are anti-inflammatory, improve immunity, and contain inulin which helps have a healthy gut.
Carrots are an excellent source of provitamin A carotenes, vitamin K, biotin, and fiber; they are a very good source of vitamin C, B6, potassium, and thiamine. With their excellent source of antioxidants, they help protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer, promote good vision, protect against macular degeneration and the development of senile cataracts. The beta-carotenes found in carrots are released when cooked.
Celery is an excellent source of vitamin C and fiber; and a good source of potassium, folic acid, vitamins B6 and B1. Celery contains the flavonoid quercetin which is an antioxidant that is anti-inflammatory and has heart-protection properties. It also has phytochemical compounds called coumarins which have been useful in cancer prevention, help to tone the vascular system, lower blood pressure, and may be useful in the treatment of migraines.
Both carrots and celery can contain high amounts of pesticides so if at all possible, choose organic when you can.
These aromatic mixtures add a solid foundation of flavor and health to your dishes, but it can be time consuming to always be chopping/dicing for each meal. It can be helpful to chop enough of each item for the entire week of meals; the chopped vegetables can be stored raw in a glass container in the fridge for use later. You could also sauté enough for the week and store the pre-cooked vegetables for use in other dishes making meal prep much quicker during the week. This saves time in both prep and clean up.
Are you back in the kitchen now that fall has arrived? What is one of your favorite fall dishes?
Be blessed and be a blessing,
Heather
